MANILA — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has returned the unsolicited proposal submitted by Megawide Construction Corp. to operate and maintain the EDSA Bus Carousel, the exclusive bus lane in EDSA, as it looks to get the project going sooner.

Speaking to reporters, DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista said that Megawide’s proposal was presented to his agency already but that they were still looking for more information. He did not specify what kind of information.

Bautista added that having a solicited bidding process would be faster than an unsolicited proposal.

“Kasi yung unsolicited proposal, based doon sa ating bagong PPP Law, napakahaba nung time. Just to receive, check the completion of documents almost 1 month na yan... To negotiate with the proponent, another 4 months. Tapos may Swiss Challenge pa… pinakamaikli, 90 days up to 1 year,” he explained.

Under the Swiss Challenge method, an offer made by an original proponent to the government can be challenged by third parties that can make better offers for a project. The original proponent then gets the right to counter-match any superior offers given by other parties.

Bautista also pointed out that the reason the DOTr was able to award the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) rehabilitation project in such a short period of time was precisely because it underwent solicited bidding.

“Kung solicited proposal yan, defined na kaagad yung terms of reference. Katulad nung ginawa natin sa airport, it took us less than a year from approval of the project to award,” he said.

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