The Public Private Partnership (PPP) Center is set to hold a pre-qualification conference today, September 19, for the prospective bidders of the PHP14.82-billion San Ramon Newport Zamboanga project.
Atty. Manuel Banayad, PPP Center Director IV for project development and monitoring facility service, announced the timelines of the procurement process for the San Ramon Newport project along with other PPP Center projects during a presentation at the Transport and Logistics Forum 2025, Wednesday, September 17, at the World Trade Center.
Banayad said the project entails the construction, operation, and maintenance of a world-class Zamboanga seaport: San Ramon Newport.
The San Ramon Newport project is aimed at improving the competitiveness of Zamboanga and fulfill the freeport’s vision of becoming a world-class economic zone that will link resources, markets, and other logistical activities that can contribute to the economic development of Zamboanga, City, and Mindanao as a whole.
The seaport project is being implemented by the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (ZCSEZFA), operator of the Zamboecozone, under a build operate transfer scheme.
According to Banayad, the pre-qualification conference will be followed by submission of qualification documents on October 15 this year and notice of pre-qualified bidders and release of bid-documents in the first week of November this year also.
Hopefully, he said, with a successful procurement, the government will be able to issue the notice of award to the winning bidder by the second week of April 2026.
A bidder may be 100 percent foreign-owned, but cannot be the operator at the same time as it requires at least 60 percent Filipino ownership.
Under its legal and regulatory framework, the port facility operator may charge user fees following tariff setting adjustment guidelines to be prepared by the ZCSEZA.
The operator will pay ZCSEZA their fixed annuity payment as concession fee.
The ZCSEZA functions as a separate customs territory, enabling duty-free flow of goods and capital. As a special economic zone and freeport, it is not under the regulatory control of the Philippine Ports Authority and holds exclusive tariff authority. The ZCSEZA intends to establish its own port authority tailored to support the project.
