DOTC AFCS Project Attracted Business Interests

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The Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) is a proposed project of the Department of Transportation and Communication with the aim of facilitating an efficient passenger transfer to the other rail lines and therefore reduce the inconvenience caused by ticket payment delays. It will also involved the decommissioning of the old magnetic-based ticketing system and replacing it with contactless-based smart card technology. The ultimate objective is to increase fare collection efficiency by reducing leakage and fraud.

A total of nine (9) consortiums involving major local and foreign conglomerates, banks, and IT companies submitted eligibility documents to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) last Friday (April 12), in an effort to qualify as bidders for the P 1.72-Billion Contactless Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) Public-Private Partnership Project. 
“We are very pleased with the investor turnout for the AFCS Project. Serious players from the transportation, IT, banking, and retail industries – both local and foreign – all came out to seek pre-qualification to participate in the bidding of the project,” the Transport Department said. 
The DOTC believes that this is proof of high investor confidence in the project, as well as in the agency itself. 

“The fact that these major groups want to be the our private sector partner for the AFCS Project only goes to show their trust and confidence in the Department, and in our open, fair, and transparent bidding process,” added the DOTC. The 9 consortiums which submitted their qualification documents are: 

• AF Consortium, composed of BPI Card Finance Corporation, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, Smart Communications, Inc., Globe Telecom, Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., and NTT Data Corporation. 

    AF Consortium will also rely on the required experience of 

    Bank of the Philippine Islands, Octopus Transactions Ltd., 

    SMRT International Pte. Ltd., Cubic Transportation Systems 

    Australia) Pty. Ltd., Accenture, Inc., MSI Global Private 

    Ltd., and Indra Sistemas, S.A.

• Comworks Consortium, composed of Comworks, Inc., Philippine Gaming Management Corp., Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp., Acer, Inc., Infochamp Systems, Corp., and Berjaya Philippines, Inc.

• E-Trans Solutions Joint Venture, Inc. Consortium, composed of Tera Investments, Inc., Eastwest Banking Corp., Sagesoft Solutions, Inc., Pilipinas Micro-Matrix Technology (PMT Joint Venture), Inc., and Pulsar Avancer Technologie, Inc. 

    E-Trans Consortium will also rely on the required experience 

    of Kentkart EGE Elektronik San. Ve Tic. A.S., Kentkart 

    Marmara Elektronik Turizm San. Ve Tic. A.S., Kentkart 

    Cukurova Elektronik San. Ve Tic. A.S., and JTKC Equities, 

    Inc.

• Lamco Consortium, composed of Lamco Paper Products Co., Inc., New San Jose Builders, Inc., Landbank of the Philippines, and NEC Philippines, Inc. 

    Lamco Consortium will also rely on the required experience of 

    Busan Transport Corp. and Samwon FA Co., Ltd.

• Mega Lucky United Consortium, composed of Asia United Bank Corporation, Dignitas Equity, Mega Cellular Network, Inc., and Gravitas 777. 

    Mega Lucky Consortium will also rely on the required 

    experience of Korea Smart Card Corp. and LG CNS Co. Ltd. 

• Megawide-Suyen-Eurolink Consortium, composed of Megawide Construction Corp., Suyen Corp., and Eurolink Network International Corp. 

    Megawide-Suyen-Eurolink Consortium will also rely on the 

    required experience of EZ-Link Pte. Ltd. and China National 

    Software and Service Co., Ltd. 

• MTD-PRLM Consortium, composed of MTD Capital BHD and Puregold Realty Leasing and Management, Inc. 

    MTD-PRLM Consortium will also rely on the required experience 

    of Puregold Price Club, Inc., Maybank Philippines, Inc., and 

    Transit Link Pte. Ltd. 

• San Miguel Transport Solutions Consortium, composed of Optimal Infrastructure Development, Inc., Catchweight Holdings, Inc., Deltacrest Holdings, Inc., and Allcard Plastics Philippines, Inc. 

    San Miguel Consortium will also rely on the required 

    experience of Petron Corp., Philippine National Bank, 

    Singapore Technologies Electronics, Ltd., Korea Railroad 

    Corp., Korail Networks Co., Ltd., Vix Technology (East Asia), 

    Ltd., and San Miguel Corporation. 

• SM Consortium, composed of SM Investments Corp., BDO Capital and Investment Corp., Advanced Card Systems, Ltd., and Pentacapital Investment Corp. 

    SM Consortium will also rely on the required experience of SM 

    Retail, Inc., BDO Unibank, Inc., and Goldsign Data Company, 

    Ltd. 

The joint DOTC-LRTA Pre-Qualification, Bids, and Awards Committee PBAC) has a maximum of twenty-five (25) days from April 12 to evaluate the qualification documents submitted by the 9 consortiums, and to announce the shortlisted groups. Actual bidding is scheduled to take place in the third quarter of this year. 

Laguindingan Airport Opening Delayed

I am just so excited with the upcoming opening of the Laguindingan Airport, the first international airport that will served mainly the areas of Misamis Oriental and its nearby provinces in Northern Mindanao. This newly constructed airport is located on a 4.17 square kilometer site at Brgy. Moog, Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental. This will replace the present old Lumbia airport of Cagayan de Oro City, and is intended to boost economic activities within the region as well.

However, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) recently announced that it has decided to push back the transfer of the gateway to Northern Mindanao from the old Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro City to the new P 7.8-Billion Laguindingan Airport by one-and-a-half months to June 15, 2013, in order to avoid disrupting passengers’ travel plans over the summer. 

The Transport Department has conducted a walk-through at the Laguindingan Airport and was very pleased with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ (CAAP) preparations for the intended April 30 opening. However, CAAP has received requests from airline companies to postpone the transfer until after the summer peak season, because the April 30 opening would require the cancellation of several daily trips. 

According to the airline companies, their representatives were encountering difficulties in reaching a substantial number of passengers who had already purchased tickets for flights in April and May, to inform them of changes in their flight itineraries. 

“It is in the best interest of the government and of the airlines to deliver safe and convenient services to the public,” said the DOTC. “As we took stock of the assessment of both CAAP and the airline companies that the Laguindingan Airport is already a safer alternative to the Lumbia Airport, we again listen to their inputs saying that postponing the transfer will be better for passenger convenience.” 

“The postponement will give the airlines ample time to inform their customers of their new flight schedules at Laguindingan Airport. This will lessen the possibility of disrupting travel plans and causing inconvenience to the riding public,” added the DOTC. 

The airlines which operate at Cagayan de Oro are Cebu Pacific Air, Philippine Airlines, PAL Express, and Zest Air. They serve a combined total average of over 2,000 passengers daily. 

The Laguindingan Airport is a key infrastructure project which is crucial to unlocking the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Corridor to more tourism- and agriculture-oriented activities. 

The government has previously announced that it will be temporarily operated by CAAP using Visual Flight Rules (VFR) until its air navigation equipment is fully in place by May 2014.