A CONSORTIUM led by San Miguel Holdings Corp. has made the “most aggressive” offer for the P24.4-billion Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project deal under the government’s public-private partnership (PPP) program, the head of the state auction committee said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Offering a charge of P8.50 per cubic meter (/cu.m.), the SMC-K Water consortium — made up of San Miguel Holdings and Korea Water Resources Corp. — bested the P10.65/cu.m. of Team Polaris-Manila Water Company, Inc. and P9.75 of Prime Alloy Water Consortium, said Nathaniel C. Santos, senior deputy administrator of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) that is overseeing the project and which is looking for the lowest charge.

Mr. Santos said the agency’s technical working group that is evaluating the technical and financial proposals submitted on Oct. 30 will give its recommendation at an MWSS board meeting on Thursday.

He added that awarding of the project contract is scheduled on Friday.

The best offer wins a 32-year contract to build, operate and generate revenues from the project that will provide treated water to communities in Bulacan. The winning bidder may also expand the current service area and the number of households that will be covered.

Team Polaris is led by Manila Water, with M.E. Sicat Construction and J.H. Patawaran Construction as consortium partners.

Prime Alloy Water consists of Prime Water Infrastructure Corp., MTD Capital BHD and Biwater International Ltd.

MWSS had also pre-qualified First Philippine Holdings Corp.-Abeima Consortium — the team-up of First Philippine Holdings and Spain’s Abeinsa Infraestructuras Medio Ambiente, S.A. — as well as the Filinvest Agua Consortium — made up of Filinvest Development Corp. and Tecnicas De Desalinizacion De Aguas, S.A., but they did not submit technical and financial proposals for the project by Oct. 30 deadline.

The project is under the PPP scheme, the state initiative to attract private companies in financing, developing and operating infrastructure and other facilities deemed vital for development that were traditionally provided by the public sector.

Mr. Santos said evaluation will check the financial soundness of the bidders to undertake the project and whether they met other specifications. Aside from construction at the water source itself, the project will also include building of an aqueduct, intake and lift station for raw water abstraction, water treatment plant and a sludge treatment facility, among others.

Contracts for 11 PPP deals cumulatively worth some P193 billion have been awarded since the infrastructure program was launched in the third quarter of 2010.