DOE targets e-trikes award this month

MANILA, Philippines - The government hopes to award this month the contract for the supply of electric-powered tricycles (e-trikes) under the Asian Development Bank funded electric vehicle program.

The government has successfully negotiated with the winning bidder for the supply and delivery of 3,000 e-trikes to lower the cost per unit, Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Loreta Ayson told reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine Economic Briefing in Pasay City.

She said the agency negotiated with Japanese firm Uzushio Electric Co. Ltd. – the sole bidder during the auction held in August – last Friday.

“I was talking with DOE Undersecretary Donato Marcos yesterday and it loos like they agreed to lower the price just to let things start and finally deploy the 3,000 units,” she said.

Following negotiations, the DOE is now awaiting the approval of the ADB to push through with the awarding of the contract.

Ayson said the ADB is expected to issue a “no objection letter (NOL) soon,” which is a critical component for the e-trike program to move forward.

“Once the ADB issues the NOL, I think it can already be awarded,” the DOE official said.

The supply of e-trikes is the initial phase of the $504-million electric vehicle (e-vehicles) program, a joint undertaking of the DOE and the ADB.

These units will be delivered to local government units and will be used by drivers through a lease-to-own arrangement. Drivers will be required to pay a daily boundary to their respective LGUs.

Originally, the bidding of the 3,000 e-trikes was supposed to take place in 2014 but was put on hold due to high costs of the units.

Once awarded, the initial e-trike project will be the deciding factor for the succeeding procurement of more e-trikes, especially with the upcoming elections, Ayson said.

“From there, they can see if the program is workable, if it would it be welcomed by the local government units. So they will decide later depending on the outcome of the deployment of the first 3,000,” she explained.