10 December 2012, Philippine Daily Inquirer

by Doris Dumlao

 
On the reported stumbling blocks to the Daang Hari toll-road project, the Aquino administration’s very first PPP project, PPP executive director Cosette Canilao said the point of contention was the new road that would connect to South Luzon Expressway. She noted that the SLEx operator finally made a decision that the Daang Hari project winner should include the expansion plans for SLEx. Canilao said this was fine because the Toll Regulatory Board had determined that such a provision was necessary.

As the required inclusion of the expansion would require changes in design, Canilao said that project winner Ayala and the Department of Public Works and Highways were now talking about the variation costs. “I’m proud of the contract because that contract itself includes provision for contract variation,” Canilao said. However, she declined to comment on an earlier reported range of P250 million to P500 million in variation cost (that the government is expected to shoulder).

The traffic simulation based on the conceptual design of DPWH, Canilao said, would indeed show a much better vehicular flow compared to the previous design. The PPP chief also noted that Daang Hari was “not that delayed,” as after the bidding in December last year and the awarding last January, six months was needed for detailed engineering design. “It’s proceeding,” she said.—By Doris C. Dumlao