The Philippines Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) on Friday said that it has given extension in the bidding process of its three public-private partnership (PPP) projects:

• Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Extension: one-on-one meetings with the pre-qualified bidders will be from April 22 to 23, and the submission of bids is set on June 17, 2013.
• Mactan-Cebu International Airport: Submission of pre-qualification documents will be on April 5, 2013 and
• Contactless Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS): deadline will be on April 12.

LRT-1 line in Manila

These extensions are intended to give bidders ample time to submit the best possible proposals to the government, in line with the current administration's good governance program.

DOTC remains flexible to requests for additional time as it actually helps them answer over 1,000 questions submitted for the three PPP projects combined.

In considering the requests for extension, the Prequalification, Bids, and Awards Committee found the benefit of encouraging more competitive proposals to outweigh any slight delays they may cause. "Ensuring that the government receives the most advantageous deals with long-term stability is our priority," the DOTC added.