The Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) is eyeing a joint venture with the operations and maintenance contractor for the Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway to help fund the P1.2-billion annual loan payment to Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) starting 2011.

This was revealed by Victor V. Zablan, BCDA vice-president for finance services group, as the agency may have a hard time pooling resources to pay up for the P26 billion total loan from JBIC to fund the SCTEX project.

Zablan said they have an option for a joint venture with the O & M contractor for SCTEX once the renewal of the current contract with Tollways Management Corp. expires in April next year.

BCDA has incurred two JBIC loans, the original loan amounted to P19 billion although this was not yet fully used up and a supplemental loan of P7 billion for the construction of exchanges and to cover for cost escalation of the project.

Once both loans have been fully drawn, Zablan estimated annual interest and loan amortization payments of P1.2 billion.

Already, BCDA has been paying P250 million to JBIC in annual interest rates representing the 95 percent draw downs from the JBIC fund.

Isaac Puno, BCDA vice-president, said that the planned joint venture with the O&M operator of SCTEX would be a means to bring in additional investments and help pay the JBIC loan.

“The point is that the O&M is not just a mere operator but a stakeholder in the SCTEX. It is going to be a profit sharing between BCDA and the tollway operator,” he said. The details of the planned joint venture have yet to be ironed out.

The O&M contract would be bid out publicly so there is no assurance that the current operator would still be the operator next year.

BCDA is paying the current O&M operator P27 million a month for the road maintenance, salaries to toll tellers, ambulance, medics, and fighfighting equipment, among others.

At the rate the SCTEX operation is going, its proceeds would not be enough to cover for the annual JBIC loan payments.

Puno explained they are hit by two factors: low volume of traffic in the SCTEX and their inability to get the needed toll rate P2.40 per kilometer instead of the Toll Regulatory Board approved P2 per kilometer rate.

“We have the lowest toll rate because NLEX has P2.20 per kilometer while SLEX has higher rate,” Puno added.

Puno said the number of vehicles plying the expressway has not measured up to the study conducted by the Pacific Consultants of Japan, which estimated 35,000 vehicles that would be using the expressway for the first year of its operation assuming a continuing good economic growth. The SCTEX was opened only in April last year.

Since its operation on April 20, 2008 up to August 31 this year, the SCTEX proceeds amounted to only P500 million.

The SCTEX started slow with only 8,000 vehicles average per day although it has now increased to 20,000 average vehicles at present. The volume of traffic only improved towards the end of 2008 with 16,000 average number of vehicles.

Puno explained that the economic growth of the country was affected and the oil crisis last year has substantially reduced the number of vehicles plying the streets.

In June to July this year, SCTEX averages only 5,000 vehicles per day because of the rainy season although strong volume were noticeable in April and May with average traffic of 20,000 vehicles per day.

The volume of traffic has also improved in August with 20,000 vehicles per day despite being a lean month.