Investors’ appetite for EDSA Busway being gauged

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) is finalizing the feasibility study for the proposed privatization of the operations of the EDSA Busway service within the “next few months.”

In an interview with reporters, Transport Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said the government needs to gauge stakeholders’ interest in participating in the project before it submits the final proposal to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

“For EDSA Busway, there was a market sounding that’s part of all our PPP (Public-Private Partnerships) Projects even at NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport),” Batan said.

“Within the next few months, we will finalize the feasibility study for EDSA Busway, we will submit it to NEDA, and like what we saw happening at NAIA PPP, we’ll get approvals and then we’ll eventually bid it out. So, those are our next steps for EDSA Busway,” he added.

According to Batan, the DoTr will target following the NAIA blueprint for all future PPP plans. The solicited PPP project for NAIA was evaluated within a record-breaking six weeks and was approved by the NEDA Board, chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in July 2023.

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto also said that the project “sets the benchmark for efficiency for the government’s pipeline projects, being the fastest-approved PPP proposal in Philippine history.”

The NAIA-PPP is expected to yield substantial earnings for the national government, with a projected P900 billion in profits from delivering significant upgrades to the airport. The project will allow the government to earn P36 billion annually.

Just like NAIA, the DoTr opted for solicited bidding for the EDSA Busway Privatization.

Last March, the PPP Center and the DoTr initiated the preliminary market-sounding activity for the EDSA Busway project. The event was attended by around 60 private sector participants and five government agencies.

The main objective of the EDSA Busway project is to improve accessibility, safety, and reliability, as well as reduce travel time for commuters along the EDSA corridor and other major feeder roads in Metro Manila.

The DoTr has already called for a feasibility study for the proposed privatization of the EDSA Busway System as early as October 2022.

The NCR EDSA Busway Project involves financing, designing, and constructing improved bus stations, operations control centers, and parking depots.