DOTC resets Cebu BRT bidding

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has postponed the bidding of the contract to operate a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Cebu City that could also be implemented in other parts of the country.

DOTC undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla issued General Bid Bulletin No. 01 – 2013 extending by one month the deadline for the submission of bids for the detailed engineering design and construction of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit system.

“Due to the complexity of the project and the request for extension by the prospective bidders, the schedule for the submission of proposal documents has been moved from April 24 to May 22,” Lotilla said.

In cooperation with the Cebu City government, the DOTC intends to develop and construct the country’s first ever bus rapid transit system in the province.

“The DOTC, in cooperation with the Cebu City government, plans to develop and construct a bus rapid transit system in Cebu, the first of its kind in the Philippines,” the agency said.

It would be patterned after the bus rapid transit systems in Bogota in Columbia, Curitiba in Brazil, Seoul in South Korea, and Guangzhou in China.

The Cebu bus rapid transit is a transport system with around 176 buses that would run through dedicated and exclusive bus-ways from Bulacao to Talamban in Cebu, with a link to Cebu’s South Road Property.

The system would serve an estimated 330,000 passengers per day when it starts operations in 2015 wherein buses would also traverse Cebu City’s business districts, residential areas, shopping centers and key tourist sites.

The system would have 33 stations along the corridor, with buses arriving at each station every two minutes to five minutes.

The DOTC intends to apply for financing from the World Bank for the cost of the transit system and for consulting services.

The first phase of the project would involve detailed engineering design and preparation of bidding documents for the engineering, structural, civil, architectural, electrical and mechanical design.

The second phase covers the supervision of the transit way and the supporting infrastructure during the construction.

The Cebu bus rapid transit system is part of the Aquino administration’s aim of providing a reliable, efficient, and safe transport system in the country.