THE Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) consortium has submitted to the government a comprehensive rehabilitation proposal for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT)-3, CEO Rogelio L. Singson said.

“Our offer is lock, stock, and barrel… We’ll take over just like in [Light Rail Transit] Line 1. We will operate and maintain, not [like the current system] that government will maintain, private sector will operate,” Mr. Singson told reporters yesterday at the awarding of ISO certificates to LRMC.

Mr. Singson added that their proposal includes provisions for the planned buyout of the government stake and offers the services included in the concession agreement with the government on the operations and maintenance of the LRT-1, such as upgrading the power supply and replacement of the train tracks.

“It is exactly what is done in Line 1,” Mr. Singson told reporters.

LRMC is a consortium of AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Metro Pacific Infrastructure Corp., and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd.

MRT operations are run by the government, while maintenance is handled by the private sector. Filipino-South Korean joint venture Busan Universal Rail, Inc. currently has the contract with government to maintain the MRT-3.

Mr. Singson said the proposal taking charge of both operations and maintenance of the train system is more practical.

“That to us is the only way that will make sense. Even if you put in new coaches, but the tracks are old, it is not sustainable,” Mr. Singson said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Mr. Singson added that he hopes the government will evaluate the proposal and award the concession to rehabilitate the MRT-3.

“It has been presented to [Department of Transportation] Secretary [Arthur P.] Tugade and [Finance] Secretary [Carlos G.] Dominguez [III]…We’re hoping the government will give the proposal a serious evaluation, and give the proponent what is referred to as original proponent status or OPS.”

Mr. Singson said that the government will then proceed with a Swiss challenge once LRMC is granted OPS status. The Swiss challenge is a process in procurement wherein the government publishes an unsolicited proposal and then invites third parties to match the bid.

Mr. Singson said the process can be done in four to six months: “Hopefully, the best proposal comes out by the first quarter of next year. It could be as soon as four to six months that the operator of the MRT-3 will be different.”

Mr. Singson added that the LRMC has requested the government to subsidize “more or less” P300 million for the LRT-1 equivalent to the backlog in fare hike claims.

Mr. Singson said the fare increase was first proposed last year but was not granted due to the change in administration: “It was supposed to be [for] last year… It was not granted. We understand because it was the transition period.”— Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR