ILOILO City – Seven contractors, including International Builders Corporation (IBC), the project contractor for the Ungka flyover, bid for the infrastructure’s rectification.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 6 officer-in-charge Engr. Sanny Boy Oropel confirmed to Panay News that the seven are local and national contractors.
The bidding for jet grouting of the flyover’s 13 piers opened on Nov. 28. Post-evaluation to determine the qualified bidder will begin this week.
“Ma-evaluate naton ang ila gin-bid nga offers kag maka-determine kita sang lowest calculated and responsive bids,” said Oropel.
The project particularly seeks those experienced in jet grouting.
“We are also considering the personnel that will be pledged by the contractor. Kon may ara sila experience nga mahatag, kon may ara sila sang experienced personnel to supervise and implement this project,” Oropel explained.
The Bids and Awards Committee, especially the Technical Working Group of DPWH-6, was given two weeks to post-evaluate the submitted bidding prices of the seven contractors.
Does IBC Have an Advantage?
The IBC conducting jet grouting in the first quarter of this year on the piers of the flyover does not have a plus factor in the bidding, Oropel said.
He added that the repair they did “will not bring them outright because it was not part of the contract; it was their own decision to provide jet grouting without cost on the part of the government.”
Although it counted as an experience for the contractor, he said.
“Puede na sia makuha nga experience sang IBC,” Oropel said.
As of now, DPWH-6 is yet to receive the first tranche, or P100-million repair budget, after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) encountered a minor problem. But DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan assured the budget would be released this month.
A second tranche of the budget, amounting to P200 million from the General Appropriations Act (GAA), is expected to follow. This fund will be used for more extensive repairs, including the replacement of spans between specific piers and deepening the bored piles of certain piers from 28 meters to 47 meters.
Engr. Adam Abinales of Abinales Associates Engineers + Consultants has previously recommended additional bored piles as a solution for the settlement issues of some piers. This approach will enhance the overall pile capacity but may require the removal and replacement of existing prestressed concrete girders.
For other piers, underpinning with intensive jet grouting is advised, reaching depths of up to 100 meters.
Currently, the inner lanes of the Ungka flyover are operational during specific hours from Monday to Saturday.
DPWH-6 aims to complete the rectification by July 2024 and fully reopen the flyover by the first week of August 2024, weather permitting./PN
