THE Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC) asserted that it has a valid proposal to rehabilitate the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) from Sumitomo Corp., after the Transportation department cast doubt on the proposal.
“Our proposal was actually made by Sumitomo as our contractor. I still maintain that the MRTC proposal with Sumitomo is the most beneficial, most cost-effective and the proposal that can be implemented fastest for the immediate convenience and safety of the riding public,” MRTC Chairman Robert John L. Sobrepeña said in a statement on Thursday.
MRTC said it wants Sumitomo Corp. to rehabilitate and maintain the train system, as indicated in its rejected proposal to the Department of Transportation (DoTr).
“Sumitomo is the right company to rehabilitate and maintain the MRT. They built the train and maintained it for 12 years. They have the correct expertise,” Mr. Sobrepeña added.
The DoTr said on Wednesday that the MRTC proposal to rehabilitate the MRT-3 is not an offer from Sumitomo Corp., and that the proposal “does not appear to have been prepared by any railway expert.”
It added, the MRTC submission is only a five-page proposal and a series of one- to three-page letters.
“Mr. Sobrepeña’s and MRTC’s proposal does not appear to have been based on any system inspection of MRT-3. It is a mystery how a proposal to rehabilitate a complex railway system could have been developed without a comprehensive system inspection,” DoTr said.
The department also said that the Japanese government remains the source of funding for the rehabilitation project, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). After a two-month review of the train system, it said in May that the rehabilitation will cost P16.985 billion and will take 43 months.
Last year, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp. proposed to the DoTr to rehabilitate and take over operation of MRT-3.
As an unsolicited proposal, it must first secure original proponent status from the agency in charge, and then seek the approval of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board. It will then be subject to a Swiss challenge where other companies may submit their counter-proposals, which the original proponent may match.
Last week, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said the department may decide by the end of the year on the OPS for the MRT-3 project.
Transportation Undersectary for Railways Timothy John R. Batan recently said the consortium is currently aligning the terms of its proposal to the scope of the JICA rehabilitation to avoid “two different people doing the same things.” — Denise A. Valdez
