DOTr's Bautista wants solicited bidding for EDSA busway privatization

EDSA Busway station along Roxas Boulevard

The planned privatization of the EDSA Bus Carousel or Busway service would likely be done through a solicited bidding.

“Actually, I want it done through a solicited bidding process to make it faster,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said in a chance interview.

Bautista, however, said the DOTr had received an unsolicited proposal from a private sector group to take over the operations of the EDSA Busway.

“But we are doing a parallel study… We have engaged a consultant, transaction adviser to do it through solicited bidding,”” the Transportation chief said.

“To be honest, solicited [bidding] is faster because the Swiss Challenge for unsolicited bids takes a minimum of 90 days to one year,” he added.

As early as October 2022, the Department of Transportation has called for a feasibility study for the proposed privatization of the EDSA Busway System.

The DOTr opted for solicited bidding for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s operations and maintenance privatization, rendering an earlier unsolicited proposal “de facto closed.”

The P170.6-billion NAIA privatization initiative concluded last week with the consortium led by San Miguel Corp. emerging as the winning bidder.

The solicited bidding took less than two months since the DOTr formally opened the bidding in late December last year. —VAL, GMA Integrated News

This article DOTr’s Bautista wants solicited bidding for EDSA busway privatization was originally published in GMA News Online.