BACOLOD City – After nearly two years, the city’s plan to establish a centralized command center is turning into reality.
This comes after the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s (SP) approval of an ordinance authorizing Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez to enter into and execute the Build-Transfer-Maintain (BTM) agreement with Highdata Infra Corp., on Wednesday, February 27.
Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, author of the ordinance, said this project has complied with all the necessary requirements, adding that a Swiss challenge was conducted but none challenged the proposal of the proponent.
Thus, on January 24, the city issued a notice of award to the proponent by informing the latter that, based on the recommendation of the PPP Pre-Qualification Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC) report dated January 13, 2025, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project under a BTM agreement was awarded to Highdata Infra Corp. with the cost of P2,105,285,273.
“This project is different because the city will have to avail of the services even without a corresponding budget, since it is to be paid in installment basis or by tranche within 10 years,” the city councilor said.
He added that the project will have an immediate effect because of the security component like closed-circuit television camera system at the command center.
To recall, on June 8, 2023, the city government through the Office of the Mayor and the Public-Private Partnership for the People Selection Committee (P4-SC), received the unsolicited proposal for a PPP to enter into a joint venture arrangement with the city.
In a meeting held on May 16, 2024 between the city and the proponent, and the PPP Center, the city government proposed that the project’s modality be changed from a joint venture to a BTM arrangement, and it was agreed.
The city said there was a need to renegotiate the terms and parameters of the project and to consider the viability of a BTM modality, and thereby issued a Certification of Re-Opening of Detailed Negotiations on May 29, 2024./PN
