THE government will not be at the losing end of a deal privatizing the right to run the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT).

While admitting the government will cough up P15 billion to pay for the services of the private sector, Transportation Secretary jose de Jesus said the amount is what it will actually spend if it were the one operating the mass rail systems.

DeJesus explained that the government will only bid out the 4- to 5-year operation of MRT-LRT, and will still own the assets. 

The service contract is in preparation for the formal auction of the rail lines, he added. “This is just an interim [arrangement]. We will [still] bid out the entire integrated concession of MRT and LRT. The winning bidder will do the expansions.”

The contract, in the meantime, will not preclude the government from adding coaches or  expanding the systems, de Jesus said. “That’s part of our capital expenditure until its full privatization.”

This is what the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program is all about, he added. “This  is a joint partnership."

Earlier, Senator Ralph Recto lambasted the government over its plan, saying the P15 billion price tag on the MRT-LRT contract is actually a “payout” to the winning bidder and not the other way around.