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The government of Philippines has appointed the US law firm Jones Day as transaction advisor for the P122.8-billion (US$2.8 billion) Laguna Lakeshore Expressway-Dike PPP project.

Jones Day will provide PPP transaction advisory support to Department of Public Works and Highways together with its sub-consultants ARC Developments International Pty Ltd. of Australia, Jacobs Engineering Group of USA, Puno and Puno Law Offices, and Engineering Development Corporation of the Philippines.

The team was appointed to conduct due diligence review of the project's feasibility study, manage the project's bidding process, prepare PPP transaction documents and provide advisory support to the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The PPP project is in the request for qualification (RFQ) stage. So far, 20 firms have registered to bid for the project. The firms that are involved in the tender process are the following:

• Ayala Land, Inc.
• Egis Group
• Filinvest Land, Inc.
• GT Capital Holdings, Inc.
• JV Power and Wealth Corporation
• Laguna Lakeshore Consortium
• Leighton Contractors
• LT Group, Inc.
• Macquaries Capital Securities
• Megaworld Corporation
• Metro Pacific Investments Corporation
• Minerales Industrias Corporation
• Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd.
• San Miguel Corp.
• Megawide Construction Corporation
• Aboitiz Equity Ventures
• JG Summit Holdings
• PT Star Line of Indonesia
• State Properties Corp.
• Alloy MTD-Hashin-Vista Land Consortium.

Interested parties must submit their qualifications documents on or before 16 October 2014.

An invitation to pre-qualify for the project published on newspapers in late July showed the project consists of two parts, namely:

• construction of a 47-kilometer flood control dike - on top of which will be a six-lane expressway - from Taguig City to Los Baños for about P64.914 billion (US$1.48 billion); and

• reclamation of 700 hectares west of the expressway-dike for about P57.897 billion (US$1.32 billion) "to… create opportunities for developing a new business and residential area on reclaimed land, to enhance regional and urban development".

The project will be developed on a design, build, finance, operate and maintenance (DBFOM) basis for a period of 37 years. The concession agreement is scheduled to be signed by March 2015. Construction works are expected to start next year and the new road is expected to be finished by the end of 2021.

The tender process for the deal will consist of two stages. First, the government will qualify interested parties to submit proposals based on minimum legal, technical and financial requirements set by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). After this, the project will be bid out to shortlisted bidders.

The project is the latest offered to investors under the government's flagship infrastructure PPP program. Eight PPP projects have been awarded, so far:

• Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway Link Road;
• Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway;
• First phase of the PPP for School Infrastructure Project (PSIP);
• PSIP's second phase;
• Philippine Orthopedic Center modernization;
• Automatic Fare Collection System; and
• Mactan-Cebu International Airport Passenger Terminal Building.
• NAIA Expressway PPP project

Five others have been rolled out:

• Integrated Transport System (ITS) Project-Southwest Terminal;
• ITS Project-South Terminal;
• Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project;
• Cavite-Laguna Expressway; and
• LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension Operation & Maintenance.