Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp said it will seek all legal options after the government threw out its bid for a 35.4 billion peso ($809 million) toll road project, the biggest under a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.
The decision of the special bids and awards committee of the Public Works department to disqualify its bid was "prejudicial, unfair, and disregards both legal and all common sense considerations that should be given to projects of this scale and importance," San Miguel said in a statement on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the committee, in its decision, said the bid security submitted by San Miguel's unit Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc was not compliant with rules because of a discrepancy in the validity and expiry periods it contained.
"We reject this decision and will explore all legal remedies available to us in order to ensure fair play and give the Filipino people the best possible deal for this vital infrastructure project," San Miguel said.
The Public Works department said other bidders qualified for the tender. They comprise a consortium formed by Ayala Corp and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc - a group consisting of Metro Pacific Investments Corp, DMCI Holdings Inc and Leighton Holdings Inc - and Malaysia's MTD Capital Bhd.
The department will open the financial bids for the project on June 13.
The project involves a 35-year state contract to finance, design, construct, and operate a 47-kilometre four-lane toll road connecting two expressways south of the capital.
The government has invited private sector investors to take on major infrastructure projects under a PPP scheme to address the Southeast Asian nation's infrastructure backlog.
San Miguel has won one out of the seven PPP projects tendered so far by the government - the contract to build a $345 million elevated expressway and feeder road connecting the Manila international airport to two expressways in the south and southwest of the capital.
