PPA seeks Matnog, Nasipit port operators

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Matnog port. Photo courtesy of Secretary Emmanuel Piñol/Oliver Legaspi, Mindanao Development Authority.
  • The Philippine Ports Authority is seeking bidders for the 15-year port terminal management contracts of Nasipit port and Matnog port
  • The minimum concession fee for Nasipit port is P621.079 million and for Matnog port, P839.438 million
  • A pre-bid conference will be held on September 13 while deadline for submission of bids is on September 27, also the date of the opening of bids

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is seeking bidders for the 15-year port terminal management contracts of Nasipit and Matnog ports.

In an invitation to bid, PPA is inviting bidders for the concession contract of Nasipit port in Agusan Del Norte. The contract covers the management and operation of cargo-handling, passenger, roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro), and other port-related services at the port.

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

PPA is also rebidding the concession contract of Matnog port in Sorsogon. There was failure of bidding in August when one of three bidders withdrew and the other two did not submit bids.

The concession contract covers management and operation of cargo-handling, Ro-Ro, passenger, and other port-related services at Matnog port.

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

The minimum concession fee for Nasipit port is P621.079 million, with a minimum concession fee of P28.782 million for the first year of the contract.

For Matnog port, the minimum concession fee has been reduced to P839.438 million from P962.123 million previously in the first bidding. The minimum concession fee for the project is now P38.901 million.

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 projects will be held on September 13. Deadline for submission of bids is September 27, also the date of the opening of bids.

Nasipit is the base port in Agusan Del Norte, handling domestic cargoes, Ro-Ro, and passengers. It was one of the six initial ports earlier identified by PPA to be bid out under its PTMRF. PPA last August said it has ongoing projects in the CARAGA region, which include Nasipit port.

Matnog port, meanwhile, is a jump-off port from Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao and 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 at Matnog port has also beset the terminal and compounded cargo truck queuing, particularly on roads leading to the terminal. Port and maritime agencies last May said measures were 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 Nasipit and Matnog ports, PPA has already bid out the port terminal management contracts of Puerto Princesa, Ormoc, Tabaco, Legazpi, Zamboanga, Iligan, Ozamiz, Calapan, Tacloban and Pulupandan ports.

READ: 2 firms win 9 PPA port management contracts

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