So, You want to be an AFCS Concessionaire in the Philippines?
In March 2026, a number of international, i.e. foreign, companies have attended the market sounding of the DOTr in Singapore (see (1), (2)). My empathy score is rather low, but even I worry about them.
During my time at AF Payments, I learned that the live of a concessionaire is not always easy. I often thought about what we could have done better or different.
That is why I have collected a few recommendations, especially for non-filipino companies who might consider entering the bidding process for the Philippines AFCS concession.
For the readers who cannot be bothered to read the whole thing, here are the top five tips:
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Money talks, bullshit walks. There is no synergy outside the fare collection business to make up for losses from operating the concession.
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“Verba volant, scripta manent" (thanks Grok). If it isn’t written down, it did not happen. If you do not have something in writing that is explicitly and provable acknowledged by the counter-party, you have nothing.
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Your customer is the government. You are not in an equal opportunity relationship! As soon as you are the concessionaire, you might as well be declared an enemy of the people.
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You and your staff will spent 50% of your time on reports, arguing over the meaning of the reports and defending yourselves against alleged KPI violations. You better get that part in the concession agreement right.
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Absolute everything will take longer and cost more. If you silently asked in your head "cost more than what?", you should not enter the bidding.