Recently, the Philippine Department of Transportation(DoTr)revealed that two Chinese companies have participated in the bidding for the Davao City Public Transport System Project(HPBS)in the Philippines. The project includes three contract packages with a total price of about74 billion pesos, equivalent to about9.1 billion yuan, and the Asian Development Bank(ADB)is financing the project.

The two Chinese companies are China Water Resources and Electric Power Corporation, a subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation, and China Railway21st Bureau, a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation. Both companies' offers included three contract packages.

The project will start bidding in November2021, close in mid-February2022, and is expected to open the bid in April2022. Information on other bidders is not yet known.

Background of the project

The Davao City Bus System Project, the Davao High Priority Bus System(HPBS)project. The project plans to introduce a modern bus system in Davao City, including the procurement of new buses, optimization of bus routes, construction of bus stops and terminals, and road upgrades. The project is Davao City's first efficient and inexpensive transit public bus system that will replace the current public jeep transit system.

The project will construct29 routes with a total length of672 kilometers, with a total of more than580 kilometers of operational roads, traversing the entire city of Davao. The project is scheduled to be put into operation in August2023.

The three contract packages of the project include: first, the design and construction of Buhangin Bus Terminal, Calinan Bus Terminal and Calinan Driving School; second, the design and construction of Toril Bus Terminal and its stations, Bunawan Station and Calinan Station; third, along the bus route civil works, including bus stops, bus lanes and other pedestrian path works. Bidders can bid individually or together. Project budget: PHP74 billion. Project financier: Asian Development Bank(ADB). Project Mode: Design and Build. Bid-winning mode: The lowest price wins the bid.

Further reading

Davao City, Philippines is the third largest city in the Philippines, located in Mindanao in the southern part of the Philippines, and is also the economic and administrative center of the island. Davao City has an area of2,444 square kilometers and a population of over2 million.

Davao City has had close ties with China since2016, when Sino-Philippine relations returned to normal. Chinese companies have aided or participated in the construction of a large number of projects in Davao City, including large-scale infrastructure projects such as the Davao River Bucana Bridge, the Mindanao Railway Project, and theDavao-Samal Island Bridge. Editor / Zhao E