THE DEPARTMENT of Energy (DoE) has drawn strong interest from potential suppliers for the first-quarter auction of 3,000 electric-powered tricycles, an official said.
“Local and international investors have expressed interest in the project,” Energy Undersecretary Donato D. Marcos said in a phone interview.
“There are 20 companies that are inclined to participate since we announced the planned bidding last year,” he added.
Mr. Marcos said the international firms are from Germany, the Czech Republic, China, Japan and Taiwan.
“The number is actually overwhelming and we hope the interest will convert into bids once we issue the documents,” he said.
Mr. Marcos said earlier this week that the agency is awaiting final clearance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) before proceeding to issue bid documents.
The electric tricycle (e-trike) project -- a joint undertaking of the DoE and ADB -- aims to replace some 100,000 gasoline-powered tricycles by 2017.
The ADB provided financing of $300 million for the $504-million project. The government will fund $99 million, and the Clean Technology Fund, $105 million.
The bid is targeted for this quarter, while awarding will likely take place in the second quarter, said Mr. Marcos.
He earlier assured that the selection of e-trike manufacturers will follow a competitive bidding process.
“We are more strict with the requirements this time because we want really qualified bidders for the successful implementation of the project,” Mr. Marcos had said.
The winning bidder -- which will need to be endorsed to the ADB before awarding -- will be given three months to deliver the first 1,200 e-trikes and then the remaining 1,800 within six months.
This new round of auction will be the second time the government will attempt to move forward with the long-delayed e-trike project.
The first round held in August last year received offers from four foreign companies: Lirica Rising Sun & Shoyo-Terra Group (from Japan); Uzushio Electric Co. Ltd. (Japan); Eco One Co. (South Korea); and Teco Electric & Machinery Co. Ltd. (Taiwan).
However, the awarding did not materialize after the local government units (LGUs) that were supposed to take the e-trike units failed to meet a “stringent requirement” of the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank).
Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said in November that an off-taker of the e-trike should have the “seal of good housekeeping” -- a certification given by the Department of Interior and Local Government to recognize good governance among LGUs.
In order to secure the “seal of good housekeeping,” an LGU is judged based a set of standards that include good planning, sound fiscal management, transparency and accountability.
As a result, the DoE decided to conduct another round of bids to include Landbank-accredited cooperatives as possible off-takers of the e-trikes.
source: Businessworld
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