Bidding for ITS-North project to wait until next admin

The bidding for the Integrated Transport System ( ITS)- North public- private partnership (PPP) project to be located in the Veterans Memorial Medical Center ( VMMC) complex in Quezon City will have to wait until the next administration, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said.

DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said the government would no longer be able to bid out the ITS- North within the term of President Aquino as it has yet to be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority Board.

“There is no NEDA Board approval yet,” he said.

He also said the DOTC has yet to sign the memorandum of the agreement with the Department of National Defense (DND) for the proposed mass transport terminal project.

An agreement needs to be signed with the DND as it supervises the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office which handles the operations of the VMMC.

Abaya said the DND wants a more elaborate masterplan for the proposed ITS-North but the DOTC can only provide the conceptual design for the project for now.

“I want to explain to (DND) Secretary (Voltaire) Gazmin, the clear, complete and detailed masterplan, we do not have that yet. We need time and master planner for that. The conceptual design, that’s what we can show,” he said.

The national elections will be held in May.

The ITS- North project covers the construction of a mass transportation intermodal terminal in the north of EDSA.

It is expected to cater to passengers coming from Northern Luzon by linking them to other transport systems such as city bus, taxi, and other public utility vehicles serving inner Metro Manila.

The winning bidder of the project will handle the design, construction, and financing of the ITS terminal as well as the operation and maintenance of the whole facility. It will likewise be allowed to undertake commercial development and collect revenues generated from the same.

Earlier, the government had awarded other ITS projects under the PPP program.

The ITS-Southwest PPP deal was bagged by MWM Terminals, a consortium of Megawide Construction Corp. and WM Property Management Inc.

Ayala Land Inc., meanwhile, won the contract for the ITS-South.

Launched in 2010, the PPP program aims to address the country’s infrastructure needs, deliver public services, and create jobs.

By LOUELLA DESIDERIO