The Philippines deferred the awarding of a project that is part of a plan to build one of the world’s longest marine bridges after local opposition over the potential involvement of a Chinese company due to national security fears.
The proposals were “undergoing thorough review” by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which acts as a lender and an overseer of the project to ensure it meets international environmental and governance standards, Manila’s public works department said in a statement on Monday.
The agency said it would announce the winning bidder once ADB had fully evaluated the proposals for technical and financial compliance and had given a “no-objection letter”. The agency, which initially targeted to issue the award notice on November 29, did not directly refer to national security concerns raised by a local shipping group against a Chinese bidder.
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“The target date of award and notice to proceed for the project will be announced in the coming weeks,” it added.
Andrew Jeffries, ADB’s country director for the Philippines, said the project followed the bank’s rules. The public works agency was “undertaking the procurement while ADB provides oversight of the process to ensure compliance with our policy and regulations,” Jeffries said in a statement on Tuesday.
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Chinese companies offered some of the most competitive tenders for the 7.25 billion peso (US$124 million) land approach project, a section of a US$3.9 billion plan to build a 32km (20 miles) bridge across the mouth of Manila Bay.