The Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications has announced that a consortium led by Ayala Corp has submitted the only bid for Manila LTR Line 1 extension through a PPP project.

The consortium is formed by Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Macquarie Group Ltd.

The project initially attracted interest from seven parties: San Miguel Corp, DMCI Holdings Inc, Megawide Construction Corp, the Spain's Globalvia, France's Ecorail Transport Services and a consortium comprising Malaysia's MTD Capital Bhd and South Korea's Samsung C&T Corp.

An earlier bidding process for the project failed after most firms that were prequalified backed out due to viability concerns, which the Philippine Department of Transport and Communications (DOTC) addressed in this second round.

The new terms stated that the government would absorb the payment of real property taxes, ensure the integrity of the facility's structure for two years, permit a 5% fare increase when the project finishes, and allow negative bid submissions.

Aditionally, the cost of the project increased from P60 billion (US$1.35 billion) to P64.9 billion (US$1.47 billion) because the project also includes the remedial and rehabilitative works for existing systems and trains, compliance with laws and regulations, equipment installations, and contingency costs.

The LRT-1 expansion project includes the operation and maintenance of the entire LRT-1 system for a 35 year concession period, and the construction of an 11.7-kilometer southward extension from the Baclaran station to Bacoor, Cavite.