Monday, October 4, 2021
Hitachi Rail asked to submit proposal for Malolos-Tutuban E&M, track works
THE TRANSPORTATION department said it has initiated the process of directly contracting a Japanese supplier for the Japan-funded North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project (Malolos-Tutuban) and hopes to award the contract for the electrical and mechanical (E&M) systems and track works by the end of the year.
“The target is within this quarter,” Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John R. Batan said in a statement Monday, after a query from BusinessWorld on the timetable for awarding of the contract.
The department issued a “request for proposal” on Aug. 20 addressed to Jorma Oksanen, head of sales and business development at Hitachi Rail STS Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of Japan’s Hitachi, Ltd.
The department said the procurement method for the contract is “direct contracting” in accordance with the applicable “Guidelines for Procurement” of the Japanese ODA (official development assistance) Loan.
This means that the procurement process is open only to the prospective supplier selected for the project.
Hitachi Rail STS, as the prospective supplier, was instructed to submit its “offer” on Sept. 20 this year accompanied by offer security of ¥1 billion.
Part of the proceeds that the Philippine government received from the Japan International Cooperation Agency for the NSCR (Malolos-Tutuban) will be used for the project’s E&M systems and track works contract.
The 38-kilometer first phase of the 148-kilometer NSCR project aims to connect Malolos, Bulacan to Tutuban, Manila. It is expected to accommodate more than 200,000 commuters daily.
Hitachi, Ltd. announced recently that a Philippine subsidiary has also been tapped to provide elevators and escalators for the NSCR Phase 1 project.
Hitachi Elevator Philippines has been awarded a contract to supply 13 elevators and 26 escalators for the railway project’s Manila, Meycauayan, Marilao, and Bocaue stations.
The company will also deliver eight elevators and 20 escalators for Balagtas, Guiguinto, and Malolos stations. — Arjay L. Balinbin
Sunday, October 3, 2021
Thursday, September 30, 2021
DOTr, Spanish design firm to sign P1.4-B MRT-4 contract
By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz
A rail system linking the province of Rizal with the eastern part of Metro Manila is nearing reality as the signing of a contract between the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Spain-based design firm IDOM Consulting Engineering, Architecture, SA (IDOM) is set to happen on Friday.
In a Viber message to reporters on Friday, the DOTr said the design contract of the rail project, to be dubbed the Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4), will have a total cost of around USD28.967 million (around PHP1.4 billion).
The DOTr, in a press release, said IDOM initially received the Notice of Award for the project on Sept. 17.
The firm will be tasked as the “detailed architectural and engineering design consultant” of the project and will prepare the MRT-4’s preliminary design, detailed engineering and tender designs, the loan processing documents, financial and economical assessments, the project/loan safeguards documents, and bidding documents.
“Under the agreement, IDOM is also tasked to determine the proper mode of transportation along the alignment and provide the methodology on ridership validation,” the DOTr said.
The project, to be funded through official development assistance (ODA) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and public-private partnership (PPP), is a proposed mass-transit railway system that will cut across the cities of Manila, Mandaluyong, Pasig, and municipalities of Cainta and Taytay in Rizal to address the “massive traffic problem and limited road capacities” in the area.
Once operational, it said the MRT-4 is seen to boost “employment opportunities, livelihood, and business opportunities” in its covered areas.
The project’s design stage, it said, is slated to begin in the last quarter of 2021 while early works for the project are set to begin by the second quarter of 2022.