MANILA: A joint venture of two companies based in North America has bagged the deal to supply 21 UH-1 combat utility helicopters to the Philippine Air Force.
The joint venture of American firm Rice Aircraft Services Inc and Canadian company Eagle Copters Ltd won the contract for the supply and delivery of Huey helicopters, the workhorse of the military’s operations.
The notice of award was issued to the joint venture last week.
Defence Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez said in an interview the Huey helicopters can be used for rescue and internal security operations.
“The helicopters will be used to meet immediate requirements. They will be used to address the dwindling capability of the Air Force,” Velez said.
The approved outlay for the project was P1.26bn, but the helicopters would be purchased for about P1.25m less than the approved budget for the contract, he added.
The supplier is expected to start delivery within six months.
“The first delivery based on the requirements is six months but they might deliver that in as close as two weeks,” Velez said.
Earlier, the Defence department held three public biddings for the Huey helicopters acquisition project but all of these failed due to the bidders’ failure to meet some requirements.
The Defence department then resorted to an alternative form of procurement to acquire the helicopters.
Officials said the procurement mode was similar to public bidding but without the publication requirements.
Under a public bidding, the procuring agency should publish a bid notice in newspapers and the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System website.
The Philippine star
