Ayala Land awarded P4-B integrated terminal system in FTI complex in Taguig

MANILA – After two months of delays, property developer Ayala Land Inc., has been awarded the P4-billion second integrated terminal system in south Metro Manila, at a site inside the Food Terminal Inc. complex in Taguig City.

A November 13 letter from the Pre-qualificaton, Bids and Awards Committed (PBAC) of the The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said the bid of Ayala Land Inc. for the South Integrated Transport System Project was the “best bid.”

The DOTC subsequently approved the recommendation of the PBAC and issued a notice of award to ALI as winning bidder, giving it 20 days to sign the notice of award and provide proof that the entity meets the financial capability qualification requirements; and letters from reputable financial institutions expressing their wilingness to provide sufficient credit facilities.

It was also told to submit P150 million as construction performance security and $775,100.79 as reimbursement for the transaction advisory services fees for the project.

In August 2015, Ayala Land topped the auction for the P4-billion South Integrated Terminal System, one of the big-ticket projects under the public-private partnership program (PPP).

Ayala Land offered a lower annual grantor payment for the project – a fee that the government pays to the concessionaire – of P277.88 million, compared with what Filinvest Land Inc. offered, P1 billion or thrice ALI’s.

The ITS South Project is located right next to Arca South, where Ayala Land is developing an integrated mixed-use estate. About 4,000 buses and 160,000 passengers are expected to feed into the ITS South from the South Luzon Expressway every day.

Construction begins by May 2016 and is expected to be completed and ready for operation by October 2017.

The winning bidder will take care of the design, construction and operations and maintenance of the terminal for a concession period of 35 years.

Covered by the project is the construction of a terminal within a 4.7-hectare lot along the FTI Compound in Taguig City. The ITS will connect passengers coming from the south, specifically Batangas and Laguna provinces, to other public utility vehicles that are serving inner Metro Manila.

Likewise, the project entails the construction of arrival and departure bays, public information systems, ticketing and baggage facilities and park-ride facilities.

DOTC earlier awarded the P3.27-billion contract to build and operate a public transport terminal in southwest of Metro Manila to MWM Terminals, the consortium of Megawide Construction Corp. and WM Property Management Inc.

The Megawide Group offered the lowest annual grantor payment of P100 million for the ITS Project southwest terminal, which has a 35-year cooperation period.

The terminal, set to be built along the Manila-Cavite Expressway in Parañaque City, is designed to provide seamless transfers between different modes of transportation.

The government is expected to bid out the ITS North Project, to be located near the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City.