The Urban Equipment company of Panama, SA (EUPAN) will carry out the study, design, construction, supply and installation of "pay zones" for users of the Metro Bus transportation system
A press release from the Presidency of the Republic of Panama reads:
The Minister of the Presidency, Jimmy Papadimitriu reported that the Transit and Land Transport Authority (ATTT) has contracted, by a special procedure, the Urban Equipment company of Panama, SA (EUPAN) to handle the study, design, construction, supply and installation of "pay zones" for users of the new Metro Bus transport system in the districts of Panama and San Miguelito.
The Ministry of Public Works concessions the design, construction and supply of 500 Metro Bus stops.
The Ministry of Public Works Public will tender the right to supply, install, maintain, preserve, develop, manage, use, usufruct, repair, replace, improve, build and operate 500 bus stops with the following characteristics:
-478 Standard Stops
-20 Pay Zones and / or Transfer Points
Chilean Consortium Sonda SA won the tender to manage the new mass transit system.
The concession was granted to the firm for a period of ten years.
"Sonda is responsible for recharging the cards for access to Metro Bus as set out in the terms and conditions of the bid, once the card system becomes operational one thousand points of sale will be available, of which 10% will be run 24 hours a day," reported the article in Prensa.com.
Sonda, Confya, Panama Card and Metro Recaudo submitted bids to manage the Metro Bus transportation system.
The proposals ranged between $ 118 and $ 229 million.
"Today's event was attended by Ministers Jimmy Papadimitriu (Presidency), Federico Suarez (Public Works), Rómulo Roux (Canal Affairs) and the director of the Transit Authority and Land Transport, Jorge Ricardo Fabrega," reports Prensa.com.
The 43 buses which will join the new Metro Bus system, arrived the Panamanian port of Manzanillo.
The arrival of the 43 buses from Colombia, add to the first 11 units which entered the country a week ago.
These 54 buses form the first group of 120 units required to start operations in the South Corridor, planned for late December.
In the next 10 days or so, said Minister of the Presidency, Jimmy Papadimitriu, the new system will begin operating in the South Corridor and in January of next year, it will change the entire public transport fleet which uses the Northern Corridor.
10 companies participated in the preliminary meeting for bidding on the management of the Metro Bus system.
To the four companies which participated in the previous process, declared void on October 8th, the following companies joined: Unipago, TMS-Telemarca, Taborda Velez Transdata, King Holding and Cable & Wireless Panama.
"Companies interested in the contract, which has a reference price of $ 15 million, should make their proposals on November 30th, although several have requested an extension," wrote Prensa.com.
‘Metro Bus Panama’, one of the consortiums bidding for designing and operating the project, has proposed a “bus leasing system”.
On May 26, three consortiums submitted their proposals for ‘Metro Bus’, a public transportation system. The bid by ‘Grupo Express’ was priced at $275 million, the one by ‘Transporte Masivo de Panamá’ at $269 million, and ‘Metro Bus Panama’ presented the lowest priced one at $30 million.