PPA seeks operator for Davao’s Sasa port

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Sasa port Davao
Sasa port in Davao
  • PPA seeks operator for Davao’s Sasa port
  • Minimum concession fee for the 20-year contract is P8.677 billion; for the first year, it will be P262 million
  • Sasa port is the first to be bid out under Tier 2 of Philippine Ports Authority’s Port Terminal Management Regulatory Framework

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is bidding out the 20-year terminal management contract for the Port of Sasa in Davao.

In an invitation to bid, PPA invited potential bidders to submit letters of intent for the concession contract covering the management and operation of cargo-handling, passenger, roll-on/roll-off (RoRo), and other port-related services at the port.

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

The minimum concession fee for the 20-year project is P8.677 billion, with a concession fee for the first year of P262 million.

The concession fee amount is exclusive of all taxes. Bids below the minimum concession fee will be automatically rejected.

The PPA port terminal management office will build the physical landside infrastructure whose minimum requirement is estimated to cost P9.885 billion.

As Sasa port is a Tier 2 port, its winning concessionaire will be responsible for the physical landside infrastructure (wharves, piers, land reclamation), above-ground semi-fixtures (cranes), above-ground fixtures (passenger terminal building, pavement, fence), and mobile-handling equipment (forklifts, trucks), while PPA will be responsible for the physical undersea infrastructure (capital, maintenance dredging).

Sasa port is the first to be bid out under Tier 2 of PPA’s Port Terminal Management Regulatory Framework (PTMRF). PPA since 2020 has already bid out 18 ports under Tier 3.

Prospective bidders must not be engaged in any business activity, whether primarily or otherwise, that will prevent it from properly and sufficiently discharging its contractual obligations under any port terminal management contract to be awarded. This prohibition covers entities engaged in maritime transportation.

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

AO 12-2018 provides guidelines for selecting and awarding contracts under the PTMRF, which outlines new rules for terminal management contracts.

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

PTMRF, provided under AO 03-2016, seeks to provide higher-quality port services 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, for easier determination of the investment arrangements of a port.

The pre-bid conference will be held on April 21 while the deadline for submission of bids and the opening of bids will be on May 5.

PPA last March conducted public hearings on the proposed tariff that will become the base rates to be used by cargo-handling and terminal operators that will win contracts for ports categorized as Tier 2.

READ: PPA proposes cargo-handling rates for Tier 2 ports

Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. (CLC) had previously submitted an unsolicited proposal for a 25-year concession to modernize Sasa port and was granted the original proponent status (OPS) for the project. CLC has, however, withdrawn its proposal as the process for approval was taking long.

PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago earlier said CLC was offered a faster process, the PTMRF, but that it would no longer have the advantage as an OPS as the bidding would be an open competitive process.

Aside from Sasa port, other ports bid out under the PTMRF were Puerto Princesa, Ormoc, Tabaco, Legazpi, Zamboanga, Iligan, Ozamiz, Calapan, Tacloban, Nasipit, Matnog, Fort San Pedro, Pulupandan, Surigao, Masao, Tagbilaran, Pagadian, and Pasig River ports. All, except Pagadian and Pasig River ports, have already been awarded. – Roumina Pablo