PPA gets unsolicited offer for GenSan port

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has received another unsolicited proposal from the private sector to rehabilitate and upgrade one of the country’s ports following a recent unsolicited offer from Dennis Uy’s Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. to modernize the Sasa port in Davao City.

PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago said Davao-based Kudos Trucking Corp. has offered to rehabilitate and improve the port in General Santos.

“Kudos manifested its interest, signed a letter of intent, and two weeks ago submitted the complete documentation for that facility. It’s for the rehabilitation and improvement, including the installation of the necessary equipment, particularly cranes in General Santos,” Santiago said.

Kudos Trucking is a private terminal operator whose main facilities are located in Davao.

Meanwhile, Santiago said the fate of Chelsea’s unsolicited proposal to modernize the Sasa port in Davao City is set to be known before the year ends.

Chelsea last August submitted an P11.2-billion unsolicited proposal to the PPA for the modernization of the Sasa port in Davao City.

“There has to be a closure of the bidding process previously undertaken by the previous administration and we only got the approval for the closure of that bidding process only two weeks ago. Concurrently, we are already evaluating the proposal of Chelsea and we will make a decision whether or not to entertain the unsolicited proposal no later than December this year,” Santiago said.

The modernization of the Sasa port was part of the PPP program by the previous administration, but was scrapped.

Chelsea Logistics president and chief executive officer Chryss Alfonsus Damuy said in an earlier interview the company is asking the government for at least 25-year concession period in its offer.

He said the proposal would be done in at least four phases, with the first phase likely costing P5 billion and involving the rehabilitation of the existing port and installation of modern equipment.

As far as the PPA is concerned, Santiago said the agency would only be entertaining unsolicited proposals for ports classified as Tiers 1 and 2.

Davao Sasa is a Tier 1 port, while General Santos port is a Tier 2 port.