QUITO Metro has launched tenders for two contracts to maintain the 22.5km Line 1 in the Ecuadorian capital. The new contracts are intended to place core maintenance activities on a multi-year contractual footing as the line moves beyond its initial operating phase. Worth up to $US 28.8m, the first contract covers preventive and corrective maintenance of the signalling system for a term of four years, including train control, interlocking and associated lineside equipment. Bids are due to be submitted this month with contract award scheduled for February 5. The second tender is for integrated maintenance of infrastructure, track, electromechanical systems and telecommunications, worth up to $US 73.9m over a five-year term. Quito Metro expects to award the contract on March 10. Local media report that previous maintenance tenders were cancelled after administrative issues affected the public procurement platform, and the award of one contract was cancelled after the preferred bidder failed to submit the required performance guarantees. As a result, the metro has relied on interim arrangements and in-house technical teams to undertake some maintenance tasks. At the same time, several key subsystems are currently maintained under separate contracts with the original equipment manufacturers. CAF maintains the fleet of 18 six-car trains that it supplied, while Alstom has provided signalling maintenance under extensions to earlier agreements. Other systems, including energy supply and telecommunications, have also been covered through supplier-specific arrangements or short-term contracts. Running from Quitumbe to El Labrador and serving 15 underground stations, Line 1 officially opened on December 21 2022. However, a faulty ticketing system delayed the start of revenue services until May 2 2023, only to be suspended by further technical problems and political disputes that delayed the resumption of commercial operations until December 1 2023. Extension loan Last month the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) approved an $US 80m loan to partially finance the 5.35km extension of Line 1 from El Labrador to La Ofelia, serving four new stations. Quito Metro is now seeking further funding partners, with the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and European Investment Bank (EIB) all expressing interest.
