MANILA, Philippines –Airbus Military in Spain is the lone eligible bidder for the medium lift fixed wing aircraft for the Philippine Air Force.
At a bidding conference at Camp Aguinaldo on Monday, the Airbus Military’s EADS CASA C295 met all the requirements and offered a price of P5.288 billion. The approved budget by the Defense department is P5.3 billion.
There were two bidders at the conference. The other, the PT Dirgantara of Indonesia, failed to meet the technical specifications of the needed aircraft.
A medium fixed light wing plane is supposed to be a transport plane that can carry both cargo and people. Paratroopers may use it for easy drop from above, Patrick Velez, assistant secretary of acquisition, installations and logistics told reporters.
The Department of National Defense will proceed with the post-qualification stage for the eligible bidder.
“We did our best in accordance with the provisions of 9184. With these types of planes, there aren’t many that could participate,” Velez said.
The post qualification is intended to evaluate whether the winning bidder has the capability to undertake the project.
“After the post qualification, the post-qualification team will submit a report. And if the report will recommend that the bidder be declared as the single most
responsive bidder, then we will recommend to the secretary the issuance of a notice of award,” Defense Undersecretary and chairman of the Bids and Awards of Committee Fernando Manalo told reporters.
Since the post qualification is in Spain, Manalo said the evaluation would probably take not less than a week.
In 2008, the C295 EADS CASA crashed in Poland, killing 20 people. It was reportedly the worst air disaster in the country since World War II.
The Czech Republic, which also acquired C295 EADS CASA planes, also asked their units to be replaced in 2012 after it was found faulty.
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