CHINESE construction groups are prominent on the list of seven eligible bidders for the design and construction contract for the new terminal at Clark International Airport north of Manila.
According to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), China State Construction Engineering Corp Ltd, China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd and Sinohydro Corp Ltd submitted bids.
The other bidders were DDT Konstract Inc, R-II Builders Inc, Tokwing Construction Corp, and a joint venture between Megawide Construction Corp and GMR Infrastructure (Singapore). Megawide and GMR already operate the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
Back in August the Department of Transportation and the BCDA commenced the bidding for the engineering, procurement and construction contract, which is estimated to be worth around 12.55 billion pesos (US$250 million).
The plan is to finish the Clark International Airport New Terminal Building by 2020, increasing Clark's annual capacity from four million to twelve million passengers. This will give airlines an alternative to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), which at the moment is the main international gateway to the Philippines, but suffers from congestion problems. The current terminal is on the site of the former US Air Force facility air base.
Forty-three local and international prospective bidders attended the pre-bid conference on August 22, where the terms of the contract were clarified for interested parties. The deadline to purchase bid documents was October 22, with submission of the bid documents by October 23.
A total of twelve potential bidders paid the initial fees for the formal bid documents, so the BCDA expressed satisfaction at attracting seven final bids. Financial bids will be opened on Dec 14, and the winning bidder will be announced on Dec 15.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has initiated a vast infrastructure programme known as Build, Build, Build, involving ports, railways, roads, and airports. Mass transport systems are being put in place to solve congestion in the main urban centers, and create better interconnectivity across the country.
Total spending is estimated at over US$180 billion over the next six years. Financial support will be needed in order to realize the programme, so Chinese companies are seen as being well placed, as they usually bring debt financing packages with them.
Meanwhile the Philippines Government has settled a legal dispute with a Chinese company on a previous project.
A statement from the BCDA said that the chairman, Department of Transportation secretary Arthur P Tugade, together with BCDA president Vivencio B Dizon, recently concluded an out of court settlement agreement over its dispute with China National Machinery & Equipment Corp Group (now named China National Machinery Industry Corporation or Sinomach), the former contractor on the 80 kilometre Caloocan to Malolos segment of the Northrail Project.
The signing of the settlement agreement was witnessed by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Allan Peter Cayetano, and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua.
Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, the parties have agreed to waive their claims against each other and declared that there will be no more payments by Northrail to Sinomach, or vice versa. They will also share the remaining arbitration fees in equal proportions.
As of March 2017, Northrail has been a wholly owned subsidiary of BCDA, has already spent 161 million pesos on its participation in arbitration proceedings, including fees for its legal consultants. Without the settlement agreement, Northrail expected to spend an additional 500 million pesos if the arbitration hearings originally scheduled in November 2017 had gone ahead.
