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The Department of Information and Communications Technology awards the contract for a new National Single Window platform to the joint venture of JAMC Holdings Corp. and Ascent Solutions Philippines Inc.
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The NSW-Integrated Trade Facilitation Platform Project was awarded after no comparative proposals were received until the November 13 deadline
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The public-private partnership project costs P393.816 million, in accordance with the JV’s final proposal
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The NSW-ITFP includes the development, implementation, operation, and eventual turnover to DICT of a unified platform that will serve as a one-stop-shop for the submission and processing of trade-related documents and permits across various government agencies
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The proposed new NSW platform will replace TradeNet, which currently serves as the country’s NSW
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has awarded the contract for a new National Single Window (NSW) platform to the joint venture of JAMC Holdings Corp. and Ascent Solutions Philippines Inc.
The NSW-Integrated Trade Facilitation Platform (NSW-ITFP) Project was awarded to the partner companies after no comparative proposals were received until the November 13 deadline.
The public-private partnership project costs P393.816 million, based on the joint venture’s final proposal, according to the notice of award published on December 3 through the PPP Center website.
JAMC-Ascent submitted in February 2024 an unsolicited proposal for the NSW-ITFP, which includes the development, implementation, operation, and eventual turnover to DICT of a unified platform that will serve as a one-stop-shop for the submission and processing of trade-related documents and permits across various government agencies.
It entails onboarding of at least 76 trade regulatory government agencies (TRGAs) into the platform.
Following the issuance of the notice of award, the joint venture is directed to comply with post-award requirements, which will then be followed by the signing of the concession agreement.
DICT in February 2025 opened its invite for challengers to apply for eligibility and submit a comparative proposal for the project. After moving the deadline for submission of comparative proposals several times, DICT no longer extended the deadline after November 13.
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The proposed new NSW platform will replace TradeNet, which currently serves as the country’s NSW, replacing the NSW Phase 1.
The NSW is the platform required in order to connect to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Single Window (ASW), a regional initiative to speed up cargo clearance and promote regional economic integration by enabling the electronic exchange of border documents among the ASEAN member states.
According to the Bureau of Customs last year, only four TRGAs were already using TradeNet while 18 additional TRGAs have been onboarded onto the staging/testing environment.
According to the project information memorandum, the concession period for the project is 12 years, which will consist of a four-month installation period, and 11 years and eight months of operations and maintenance.
By implementing the ITFTP under the NSW policy, the Philippines stands to gain at least three immediate impacts: reduction in time consumed in getting permits and facilitating trade, reduction in trade-related costs, and improvement in trade documentation.
Trade documentation can be improved for both traders and the government as transmission of data will be instantaneous, digital, and readily accessible by multiple parties simultaneously. This enhances productivity despite location differences and largely improves management, storage, and retrieval of information. This also allows audit agencies to monitor the use of permits and track non-compliant traders.
Onboarding of TRGAs to the system will be in four phases over two years:
- Phase 1: 20 TRGAs
- Phase 2: 17 TRGAs
- Phase 3: 22 TRGAs
- Phase 4: 13 TRGAs
— Roumina Pablo
