The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said it has reopened the bidding for the P580.07-million contract to build the Zamboanga passenger terminal building.

In a bid notice issued on Monday, the port regulator invited interested parties to submit bids for the project by Nov. 11. According to the notice, the winning bidder must complete the works within 540 calendar days, and only contractors that have completed a project of a similar type will qualify for the auction. That qualification rule effectively limits the field to contractors with a track record of completing comparable works.

In September, the PPA said it hoped to reopen the bidding within the year, with the award of the contract expected by the end of 2026. The Nov. 11 bid deadline and the projected end-2026 award now stand as the project's next checkpoints.

The contract was originally awarded on Jan. 21, 2021 to MAC Builders, Inc., but was terminated in September 2025 due to operational concerns, with the PPA citing design misalignment and prolonged delays. The agency has also cited location-specific challenges and design considerations, and said the completion of the project was further delayed by the pandemic.

The passenger terminal was about 52% complete when the contract was terminated, according to the PPA, which now expects the project to be finished by 2028. That timeline would put completion roughly seven years after the original award, a span shaped by the pandemic-related delays and the termination the agency has cited.

Separately, the PPA awarded the P215.88-million contract to upgrade the Jubang cruise ship project in Surigao del Norte to a joint venture of Khan Kon Chi Construction and Development Corp. and KUDC Industries, Inc., even as the Zamboanga contract returns to the market.

— Ashley Erika O. Jose, BusinessWorld