R3 - South Luzón Expressway

[Transporter89]

http://business.inquirer.net/91066/p...ost-govt-p500m



PPP project changes may cost gov’t P500M
Monday, November 5th, 2012

The government’s proceeds from the Daang Hari link may be cut in half after it was revealed that the Department of Public Works and Highways approved a last-minute change in the project’s interconnection design without the consent of the operator of the South Luzon Expressway to which the tollway will connect.

Due to the snag, work on the 4-kilometer tollroad—won by the Ayala group with a P902-million bid—has yet to begin almost 11 months after the project was awarded, according to official documents obtained by the Inquirer.

More importantly, a source involved with the project said the new design proposal approved by the DPWH would cost anywhere between P250 million and P500 million—a so-called “variation order” that would have to be shouldered by the government. The variation order would reduce the government’s net proceeds from the Daang Hari project to as low as P400 million from the original winning bid of the Ayala group.

The source explained that instead of using the rotunda design that was bid out by the DPWH, the Ayala group submitted two construction plans, which the DPWH accepted shortly before the financial bids were opened late last year.

“The new design that DPWH accepted is very different from the one they originally approved,” the official said. “Instead of a roundabout, there will now be a bigger toll plaza, while the connection to [the northbound lanes of] SLEx will require a longer tunnel under it.”

The official explained that the Ayala proposal approved by DPWH was meant to connect to the existing SLEx design without taking into account the highway’s upcoming expansion, which would increase its number of lanes from eight to 10 to accommodate growing vehicular traffic volume—a provision built into the original concession of SLEx’s operator, South Luzon Tollways Corp. (SLTC).

SLTC is the concessionaire for the 36-kilometer expressway from Alabang, Muntinlupa City, to Sto. Tomas, Batangas, and is majority-owned by Atlantic Aurum, a partnership between Citra of Indonesia and San Miguel Corp.

Upon the request of the DPWH, SLTC earlier issued a “no objection” letter to the project on the condition that its future expansion plans would not be jeopardized. Upon learning of what it described as “material changes” made by DPWH, however, SLTC withdrew its consent and was now being blamed for the delay in the project.

The source explained that the Ayala group was now in a bind since DPWH has not informed bidders that SLTC’s consent was limited to the rotunda design. “But DPWH accepted Ayala’s design changes so DPWH also has to shoulder the variation costs of as much as P500 million,” the official said. “I don’t think Ayala will agree to shoulder it, and neither will SLTC.”

Last year, 18 bidders expressed interest in the Daang Hari PPP project, but only two entities—the Ayala and San Miguel groups—were pre-qualified by the government.

The official revealed that some disqualified bidders were now questioning the process adopted by the government because of two major changes made during tender process.

After the submission of the prequalification documents, DPWH raised the tariff for the project by 25 percent and lengthened the concession period from 25 to 30 years, issued through a bid bulletin, together with the revised draft concession agreement.

“But there were bidders who opted out of the project earlier because of the low tariff and short concession period and they didn’t know that these parameters were adjusted,” the official said.

[absinthe_888]

Tiba-tiba na naman ang oligarkiya?

[Transporter89]

http://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarkiya

Oligarkiya

Mula sa Tagalog na Wikipedia, ang malayang ensiklopedya

Ang oligarkiya (Griyego: Ὀλιγαρχία, Oligarkhía) ay isang uri ng pamahalaan kung saan ang kapangayarihang pampulitika ay karaniwang nakasalalay sa isang maliit na pangkat ng mga piniling tao mula sa isang bahagi ng lipunan (maaaring pinagkaiba sa paraan ng kayamanan, pamilya o kapangyarihang pang-militar). Ang salitang oligarkiya ay mula sa mga salitang Griyego na nangangahulugang "kaunti" (ὀλίγον óligon) at "pamamahala" (ἄρχω arkho).


tanong: Oligarkiya ba yan?

[expatdingdong]

me traffic advisory sa lane closure dahil sa girder launching sa bilibid prison bridge way improvement.....

be advised, nasa website ng mates

[absinthe_888]

Bilis ng DPWH ngayon, girder launching completed.

At,meron na ulit streetlights sa Calamba Exit, though hindi lahat. Well better than having none at all. Salamat SLTC

[Lucentino]

San Miguel, Citra plan infra joint venture
By Paolo G. Montecillo in Manila
Asia News Network
November 25, 2012

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and Jakarta-based Citra Group is building up a war chest worth US$1 billion for infrastructure projects in the Philippines and Indonesia, with the aim of becoming Southeast Asia's biggest toll road player.

At a briefing yesterday, Citra Group chair Shadik Wahono said the company planned to form a joint venture with San Miguel that would eventually go public, either through an initial public offering (IPO) in the Philippines or through the issuance of toll road asset-backed securities called Business Trusts in Singapore.

The new holding firm, which has yet to be named, will handle both groups' extensive toll road assets in Indonesia and the Philippines.

"The consortium's balanced mix of revenue-producing mature assets and strong development projects gives bright prospects for its future," Wahono said.

"Its focus on toll road infrastructure in the Philippines and Indonesia-with their large population base, strong economic growth and developing car cultures-positions the consortium to be a dynamic and significant force in infrastructure in Southeast Asia."

San Miguel and Padma Funds LP., a Cayman Islands-based private equity firm that owns the Citra Group, control Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp. and South Luzon Tollways Corp. The two toll road firms hold the concessions for the Metro Manila Skyway and South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), respectively. Revenue of both toll roads is expected to reach $266 million in 2012, up 12 per cent year-on-year.

On its own, San Miguel also holds concessions in the $250-millon North Luzon East Expressway and the $390-million Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway projects. Padma, through Citra, owns and operates 70 kilometres of toll roads in Jakarta and Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city next to the capital, handling 600,000 vehicles a day.

San Miguel and Padma plan to put up a new holding firm for existing and future assets of both groups. The public listing would likely take place after the first quarter of 2013, Wahono said, adding that the company might sell $200 million worth of new shares initially. A follow-on offering two or three years down the line of roughly the same amount might also be done.

He said the company had the option of raising $700 million to $1 billion in one move by tapping the Singapore market, which has more liquidity.

With interest rates in the region at record lows, "any instrument that pays out 7-8 per cent a year will make investors used to fixed-income assets very happy", he said.

In the Philippines, the group hopes to develop the Skyway Stage 3 and 4, worth $590 million and $670 million, respectively; SLEx phase 4 worth $230 million and potentially the widening of the Southern Tagalogue Arterial Road (Star), which the group intended to acquire before yearend. Skyway stage 3 will link the elevated highway to North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) while stage 4 will stretch from Buendia to Bulacan.

SLEx phase 4 is a 57-kilometre road from Batangas to Lucena, Quezon.

[absinthe_888]

Paano yung Skyway Stage 4 from Buendia to Bulacan? @_@

[Transporter89]

http://business.inquirer.net/94963/s...ng-hari-policy
SLEx operator opposes DPWH Daang Hari policy

By Daxim L. Lucas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
2:00 am | Monday, November 26th, 2012

South Luzon Tollway Corp. (SLTC) has formally objected to the decision of the Department of Public Works and Highways to allow last-minute changes in the design of the Daang Hari road project without securing the approval of all involved parties.

In a letter to Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, the operator of the South Luzon Expressway said it had agreed to the original design of the 4-kilometer tollroad, but was surprised to find out that recent revisions proposed by the winning bidder—Ayala Corp.—was given more weight by the department over SLTC’s guaranteed right to widen SLEx.

SLTC said it was“surprised” that the department had adopted the technical justifications of the Daang Hari winning bidder, which did not accept the original roundabout design of the DPWH.

“We are at a loss as to why the DPWH is now asserting that the DPWH rotunda design ‘does not meet the minimum performance standards and specifications’ for the Daang Hari Road project,”SLTC said in its letter to Singson.

The Daang Hari connector road is the first project awarded under the Aquino administration’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program. It is meant to help decongest vehicular traffic in southern Metro Manila by connecting the parallel SLEx and Daang Hari roadways. The right to build and operate it was won by Ayala Corp. with a bid of P902 million in December 2011,but work has not commenced on the project due to disagreements over the road’s design.

In SLTC’s letter to Singson, the company said the old rotunda design was the very same one used by the DPWH when the project was bid out last year.
“We assume that in asking the potential investors to bid based on the rotunda design, the DPWH had represented that the design met the minimum performance standards and specifications that the DPWH had set for the said project,” SLTC said.

SLTC pointed out that its own Supplemental Toll Concession Agreement entered into with the government when it rebuilt SLEx a decade ago guaranteed it the right to expand the toll road by adding more lanes.

DPWH’s unilateral decision to accept Ayala’s redesign will prevent it from expanding SLEx, which at present, is already nearing maximum capacity due to the growth in vehicular traffic, SLTC said.

SLTC issued a “no objection” letter to this design, but later withdrew it when it learned that DPWH approved a revised Ayala plan which would prevent SLTC from expanding SLEx by adding lanes to accommodate growing vehicular traffic.

The company reiterated that the design changes were “effected without consulting with SLTC, or obtaining its consent thereto, in complete disregard of the latter’s 23 September 2011 ‘no objection’ conditions.”

Under the proposed changes, DPWH will have to underwrite as much as P500 million for the so-called “variation order” after it accepted the design materially different from the original roundabout design.

SLTC reminded the DPWH that the company had acquired a 60-meter right-of-way space, as required by the department, precisely to allow for future expansion of the road. The new design will affect the right of way.

“It is therefore unwise, from an engineering, economic and political standpoint, to limit the right of way of SLEx and thus remove or prevent the possibility of widening SLEx, particularly the section between Filinvest and Susana Heights, which is currently used by more than 150,000 passenger cars daily, only to benefit a much smaller number of vehicles that will use the Daang Hari Road,” SLTC argued.

[absinthe_888]

Guys, as much as possible, sa passing lane kayo dumaan pag asa San Pedro Exit - Petron SB kayo.Grabe ang pangit ng daan sa 2nd to 4th lanes especially sa meh Alaska/Monarch section. Parang EDSA e.

Hindi kaya maganda yung civil woks noon nung tinaas nila tong section na to to prevent flooding?

[Transporter89]

http://business.inquirer.net/97315/b...s-ppp-pipeline

By the staff
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:41 am | Monday, December 10th, 2012

‘Not too delayed’

On the reported stumbling blocks to the Daang Hari toll-road project, the Aquino administration’s very first PPP project, PPP executive director Cosette Canilao said the point of contention was the new road that would connect to South Luzon Expressway. She noted that the SLEx operator finally made a decision that the Daang Hari project winner should include the expansion plans for SLEx. Canilao said this was fine because the Toll Regulatory Board had determined that such a provision was necessary.

As the required inclusion of the expansion would require changes in design, Canilao said that project winner Ayala and the Department of Public Works and Highways were now talking about the variation costs. “I’m proud of the contract because that contract itself includes provision for contract variation,” Canilao said. However, she declined to comment on an earlier reported range of P250 million to P500 million in variation cost (that the government is expected to shoulder).

The traffic simulation based on the conceptual design of DPWH, Canilao said, would indeed show a much better vehicular flow compared to the previous design. The PPP chief also noted that Daang Hari was “not that delayed,” as after the bidding in December last year and the awarding last January, six months was needed for detailed engineering design. “It’s proceeding,” she said.—Doris C. Dumlao

[absinthe_888]

First PPP was awarded January 2012...December 2012 na...

[Transporter89]

baka ang construction start January 2013

[watcher09]

Originally Posted by Lucentino

San Miguel, Citra plan infra joint venture
By Paolo G. Montecillo in Manila
Asia News Network
November 25, 2012

... SLEx phase 4 worth $230 million and potentially the widening of the Southern Tagalogue Arterial Road (Star), which the group intended to acquire before yearend...

SLEx phase 4 is a 57-kilometre road from Batangas to Lucena, Quezon.

Hope they extend SLEx up to Bicol in the future. This would rapidly propel growth of the whole Quezon and Bicol mainland provinces.

[watcher09]

Originally Posted by absinthe_888

Paano yung Skyway Stage 4 from Buendia to Bulacan? @_@

Here:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...1518081&page=8

Try also the Skyway Thread.

[absinthe_888]

Saan nakalagay dun yung Skyway Stage 4? Stage 3 is the NLEX-SLEX connection. O ito na nga yun, typo error lang?

[whatuwan]

Skyway Stage 4 is a different project. I think it is kinda like another version of the C6 expressway, except it is elevated.

[krrra]

Originally Posted by whatuwan

Skyway Stage 4 is a different project. I think it is kinda like another version of the C6 expressway, except it is elevated.

according sa DPWH Website, at grade ang C6 expressway starting from Sucat, Muntinlupa. How to connect it to SLEX and how it will pass urbanized Rizal places?

[Christerdom]

Originally Posted by absinthe_888

Guys, as much as possible, sa passing lane kayo dumaan pag asa San Pedro Exit - Petron SB kayo.Grabe ang pangit ng daan sa 2nd to 4th lanes especially sa meh Alaska/Monarch section. Parang EDSA e.

Hindi kaya maganda yung civil woks noon nung tinaas nila tong section na to to prevent flooding?

OT: Arggg.... speaking of EDSA, main thoroughfare ng Metro Manila pero nakaka disappoint. Feeling ko makakalas ang sasakyan ko sa sobrang lubak

[watcher09]

Originally Posted by Christerdom

OT: Arggg.... speaking of EDSA, main thoroughfare ng Metro Manila pero nakaka disappoint. Feeling ko makakalas ang sasakyan ko sa sobrang lubak

Ano ba ang sasakyan mo? If that's a SUV or a pick-up, that would fine.

[Lucentino]

Php 11.92 Billion Toll Road Project to be Constructed in Quezon Province
December 19, 2012

Lucena City - The Provincial Government of Quezon welcomes a new toll road project with an estimated worth of Php 11.92 Billion to be built in Quezon Province. The South Luzon Tollway Corporation (SLTC) will serve as the concessionaire for this Toll Road 4 (TR4) Project in which a 4-lane expressway with an estimated length of 57.325 kilometers will spur from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City.


Quezon Governor David “Jay-Jay” C. Suarez believes that road networks are the foundations of development. As such, he values the development projects for the province like the concession of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Phase 2 project where the construction of the new TR4 represents the trust and confidence of Quezonians in his leadership.


Granted by the Toll Regulatory Board and signed during the administration of former President and incumbent Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the TR4 project aims to pave way to faster and easier access to Region IV and V. Moreover, it will alleviate the worsening traffic condition along the key cities and municipalities of the said regions. It also seeks to uplift the lives of Quezonians which will contribute to the economic development of the regional growth centers by addressing the overconcentration of economic activities in Manila.


This will be achieved through Public and Private Partnership (PPP) of SLTC with the Toll Regulatory Board (Grantor), Philippine Natl. Construction Corp. (Franchisee) and Manila Toll Expressway Systems, Inc. (O&M Company), as well as agencies like the Toll Regulatory Board (Regulatory Agency) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (Implementing Agency).


Engr. Allan R. Plete from the Safety, Health and Environment Management of South Luzon Tollway Corporation said that their company plans to conduct public consultations in the province so Quezonians can better understand and monitor the development of the project. He also added that during those consultations, they also hope to discuss the benefits as well as the remedies to the effects of the project.


At present, the SLTC is engaged in the process of studying and identifying the land area to be affected by the construction of the said expressway through parceliary mapping. The said company is also applying for the necessary permit requirements such as the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) for the said project.


The Toll Road 4 (TR4) alignment is divided into 5 sections from Sto. Tomas Batangas to Lucena City. The first section starts from Sto. Tomas to Makban (TR4-A), then from Makban to San Pablo (TR4-B), San Pablo to Tiaong (TR4-C), Tiaong to Candelaria (TR4-D), while the fifth section begins from Candelaria up to Lucena City (TR-E).


Among the projects accomplished by South Luzon Tollway Corporation are the reconstruction and widening of the road from Filinvest to Calamba in June, 2009 and the construction of the road extension to Sto. Tomas, Batangas in June, 2010. (Quezon PIO)