PPA revises estimate for Davao Sasa Port dev’t cost to P7.37B

THE PHILIPPINE Ports Authority (PPA) has revised the development cost of the Port of Sasa in Davao to P7.37 billion from the previous estimate of P9.88 billion.

The cost revision follows changes to the port development plan, the agency said in a bid bulletin posted on its official website.

At the same time, it revised the minimum concession fee for the duration of 20 years to P8.63 billion from P8.68 billion previously. This is exclusive of all taxes.

“The minimum concession fee for the first year is likewise revised to P261.09 million, exclusive of all taxes,” it added. The previously announced minimum concession fee for one year, exclusive of all taxes, was P262.41 million.

The construction cost estimate was downgraded after the removal of some items from the terms of reference, including the provision of roughing in for a shore power facility; construction of the shore power facility; and the repair and maintenance of existing concrete pavement, building fixtures, electrical systems, drainage system, and other existing facilities.

A representative of the PPA told BusinessWorld in a phone message that joint venture of Globalport Terminals, Inc. and Globalport Ozamiz Terminal, Inc. is the lone bidder for the Port of Sasa project.

The deadline for the submission of bids and bid opening was May 5.

Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. was awarded original proponent status in 2019 after turning in an unsolicited offer to modernize Sasa port.

PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago said in September last year that the proposal was still being evaluated by the National Economic and Development Authority.

Bidding out the contract was an option, he said, because the proponent had concerns about the length of the process. Chelsea Logistics President and Chief Executive Officer Chryss Alfonsus V. Damuy also said last year that the company could “explore any option depending on how it can be repackaged.”

The PPA is hoping to complete and inaugurate 31 more port projects before President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s term ends on June 30.

Since 2016, the government has completed 585 port projects, large and small, according to PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago. — Balinbin