PPA seeks bids for P962M Matnog port contract

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Matnog port. Photo courtesy of Secretary Emmanuel Piñol/Oliver Legaspi, Mindanao Development Authority.
  • The Philippine Ports Authority is bidding out the terminal management contract for Matnog port in Sorsogon
  • The 15-year concession contract covers the management and operation of cargo-handling, roll-on/roll-off, passenger, and other port-related services at Matnog port
  • The minimum concession fee for the project is P962.123 million, with a minimum concession fee of P44.587 million for the first year of the contract
  • A pre-bid conference will be held on July 23 while deadline for submission of bids is August 9, also the day the bids will be opened

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is seeking bidders for the port terminal management contract of Matnog port in Sorsogon.

In an invitation to bid, PPA said the 15-year concession contract covers the management and operation of cargo-handling, roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro), passenger, and other port-related services at Matnog port.

The project involves stevedoring services, passenger terminal management, Ro-Rocargo services, porterage services, waste and shore reception facility management, water distribution services, weighbridge facility, and ancillary and other related services.

The minimum concession fee for the project is P962.123 million, with a minimum concession fee of P44.587 million for the first year of the contract. All concession fee amounts are exclusive of all taxes.

Bids below the minimum concession will be automatically rejected.

Bidders must have at least two years of experience in cargo-handling, passenger terminal building, and Ro-Ro operations.

The bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in PPA Administrative Order (AO) No. 12-2018, as amended.

AO 12-2018 provides guidelines for selecting and awarding contracts under PPA’s Port Terminal Management Regulatory Framework (PTMRF), which outlines the new rules for terminal management contracts.

The guideline aims to ensure port services to be provided will meet global standards and the selection of port terminal management contracts is competitive and transparent.

PTMRF, provided under AO 03-2016, seeks to provide higher quality port service by promoting private sector participation. Under this framework, investments in ports are to be categorized into six tiers, ranging from a fully private concession to a fully PPA-managed port, to make it easier to determine the investment arrangements of a port.

A pre-bid conference for the port project will be held on July 23. Deadline for submission of bids is on August 9, also the date of the opening of bids.

Matnog port is a jump-off port from Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao that handles Ro-Ro vessels and services passengers. The port is known to suffer perennial congestion and truck queuing, especially during times leading to the holidays when passengers travelling home flock the terminal. The issue of “fixing” and corruption has also beset the terminal and been seen to compound the problem of cargo truck queuing, particularly on roads leading to the terminal.

READ: Measures rolled out to ease Matnog port road congestion

Port and maritime agencies last May said measures have been laid out to address such issues, particularly on hampered shipping operations at the port caused by congestion and truck queuing.

PPA has opened two additional Ro-Ro ramps, increasing Matnog port’s Ro-Ro ramps to eight, to address the lack of infrastructure and increase port safety.

Aside from Matnog port, PPA earlier opened bidding for the port terminal management contracts of Puerto Princesa, Ormoc, Tabaco, Legazpi, Zamboanga, Iligan, Ozamiz, Calapan, and Tacloban.

PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago early last March said they are privatizing operations of ports managed by PPA.