Friday, January 22, 2021
Anomalous P170-M LRT 2 deals bared
The Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) has found inconsistencies in the procurement of P170.3 million worth of equipment for the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT 2) to warrant the filing of charges.
Documents from the PACC obtained by The Manila Times on Thursday showed that re-railing and rolling stock diagnostic equipment delivered for LRT 2 were different from the brand specified in the bidding conducted by the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).
The crate containing the equipment had a sticker printout identifying it as shipped by the Chinese firm CRRC Corp., as ordered by Kempal Construction and Supply Corp., the winning bidder.
The documents showed that the crate contained instead equipment from an Indian company, Bemco.
The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), the operator of LRT 2, had asked Kempal Construction, Maan Construction Inc. and IFE Elevators Inc. to submit bids to supply the re-railing equipment.
Evidence “indicates that the re-railing equipment did not come from CRRC but from Bemco,” the corruption watchdog said.
It said it appears the signature in the LRTA Inspection and Acceptance Report was forged, facilitating the switch of equipment.
The commission also cited irregularities in the procurement of escalators for the LRT 2 stations.
It said the actual capacity of the escalators delivered by JV Maan-IFE was 6,000 persons per hour, short of the required capacity of 9,000 persons per hour.
“Worse, the as-built blueprints of the subject escalators show that those in the custody of LRTA were tampered, which are also different from the blueprints submitted by the Office of the Building Official of the City of Manila,” the commission said.
The escalators also broke down long before the expiration of the two-year warranty period.
“[This shows] that these escalators were really substandard and do not fit the requirements of the outdoor, heavy duty escalators that LRTA needed,” it said.
The PACC said it was considering suing seven individuals in connection with the procurement of the equipment. They were engineer Julito Bernales, Rodger Ravelo and Jorge Mendoza of the PS-DBM, a certain Noralyn Salvador who signed a report that states Kempal delivered brand new CRRC re-railing equipment.
Three LRTA staff, Romel Correa, Cesar Legaspi and Robert Ruiz, could also face charges, the commission said.
“Documents have shown that the flaws in these equipment were blatant, apparent, clear and easily ascertainable through ordinary ocular inspection of the documents and observation of the items. Specifically, in the case of the re-railing and the rolling stock diagnostic tools, these items were never used, and some LRTA employees said that they were never properly tested in order to ensure that they can carry the load for which they were bought,” the PACC said.
It said it endorsed before the Ombudsman charges against the individuals it named for violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3109, also known as the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.”
The LRTA management has not replied to The Manila Times’ request for comment as of Thursday afternoon.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/01/22/news/headlines/anomalous-p170-m-lrt-2-deals-bared/830610/
Thursday, January 21, 2021
DPWH rushing completion of NLEX Connector project
The North Luzon Expressway Corp. and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are fast-tracking the construction of the first five-kilometer section of the NLEX Connector from Caloocan Interchange to España, Manila to complete the segment by yearend.
DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said right-of-way delivery for the whole alignment stands at 81 percent while construction progress is at 16 percent.
“With the commitment of both the public and private sectors, we are optimistic that we can finish the project as scheduled,” Villar said yesterday.
NLEX said it would be utilizing Super T girders, which are used for bridges in Australia and New Zealand but relatively new in the domestic construction industry.
Compared to other types of girders, Super T beams are more flexible, structurally efficient and aesthetically appealing, according to the tollway firm.
NLEX said the structural format of a Super T provides an optimal solution to challenges posed by the project, which passes through urbanized areas where the roads are congested and the right-of-way is constrained laterally.
Over 1,400 girders will be used for the entire connector project.
“Innovation is one of the core values of the company. We are using Super T beams to advance the construction progress so we can soon complete this crucial infrastructure that would help decongest Metro Manila and solve truck ban woes,” NLEX president and general manager Luigi Bautista said.
Spanning a total of eight kilometers, the P23-billion NLEX Connector will be an all-vehicle-class elevated expressway that will traverse C-3 Road in Caloocan City, passing through Abad Santos, Blumentritt, Dimasalang, España, Magsaysay Boulevard and eventually connect to the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 in Sta. Mesa.
The remaining three-kilometer segment to complete the entire project will be finished by next year.
The NLEX Connector will feature four toll plazas and interchanges along C-3 Road and España.
It is seen to reduce travel time between NLEX and South Luzon Expressway from two hours to 20 minutes only.
The project will also provide trucks with an alternative route around the clock, enabling unhampered delivery of goods and stimulating economic development in Manila, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and surrounding areas.
https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/01/21/2071859/dpwh-rushing-completion-nlex-connector-project
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Metro Channel schedule (January 20, 2021)
6 am - Good Morning Hong Kong
7:35 am - Traffic News
7:40 am - International News File
7:45 am - Good Morning Hong Kong
8:05 am - Traffic News
8:10 am - Good Morning Hong Kong
8:55 am - Earth Live
9 am - Inside the Stock Exchange
9:30 am - SHHK Connect
9:45 am - JSG Song Corner
9:50 am - Happy Old Buddies
10 am - News
10:10 am - A Kindred Spirit
10:30 am - Midnight Diner
11:30 am - TV Easy and News Headlines
11:35 am - Inside the Stock Exchange
11:45 am - 7 Days in Life
12:30 pm - TV Easy
12:35 pm - Inside the Stock Exchange
1 pm - Noon News
1:15 pm - Weather Report and Earth Live
1:20 pm - Big City Shop
2 pm - News
2:10 pm - All Things Girl
2:35 pm - TV Easy
2:40 pm - Inside the Stock Exchange and SHHK Connect
2:45 pm - Stealing Seconds
3:45 pm - Daily Mum
4 pm - News
4:10 pm - Inside the Stock Exchange
4:15 pm - Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion
4:50 pm - Kids, Think Big
5:20 pm - Uchitama?! 〜Uchinotama Shirimasenka?〜
5:50 pm - Financial News
6 pm - News
6:10 pm - Our animal neighbor and News Files
6:30 pm - TV Patrol
7:30 pm - Scoop
8 pm - Blue World
8:30 pm - MasterChef Junior
9:20 pm - Peanuts
9:30 pm - Innovation: GPS
10 pm - Finance at 10
10:55 pm - Global Stock Indexes
11 pm to 5 am - NBC News Special: The Inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
NLEX-SLEX Connector project now underway
The public works and highways department of the government is now focusing on the solution to the truck ban through the eight-kilometer NLEX-SLEX Connector.
An estimate of 30,000 vehicles which mainly include trucks are expected to benefit from the project which will have a full 24-hour operation.
“‘Pag natapos po itong connector, lalong luluwag ang EDSA kasi lahat ng trucks na galing sa Port magkakaroon ng option na mag-NLEX or mag-SLEX. At the same time, magkakaroon din ng exit sa Espaῆa (EDSA will be less congested because all trucks from the Port will have the option to use NLEX or SLEX once the connector is completed. At the same time, there will be an exit in Espaῆa),” DPWH Sec. Mark Villar explained.
Villar conducted an inspection on Wednesday on the construction site of the project in Caloocan City. From NLEX Harbor Link in C-3 in Caloocan, a connector will be built going to Skyway Stage 3, passing through Abad Santos, Blumentritt, Dimasalang, Espaῆa, and Magsaysay Blvd.
The NLEX-SLEX Connector will have three exits in Sta. Mesa, Espaῆa, and C-3. The first phase of the project from C-3 to Espaῆa is expected to be completed by December 2021. However, some stations of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) will be affected.
“Ang gagawin namin doon, bumili na kami with DPWH steel temporary stations. So gigibain mga concrete stations namin, papalitan ng steel stations (What we did was to buy with DPWH some steel temporary stations. We will demolish concrete stations which will be replaced with steel stations),” PNR GM Junn Magno said. – Report from Karen Villanda
https://ptvnews.ph/nlex-slex-connector-project-now-underway/
NLEx Connector Road to SLEx on track for 2022 completion
Toll road operator NLEx Corp. and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are accelerating the construction of the NLEx Connector project, a second elevated expressway linking the northern and southern parts of Metro Manila.
NLEx Corp., which operates the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway, said in a statement that the first 5-kilometer section of the NLEx Connector from the Caloocan Interchange, C3 to España, Manila will be finished by the end of 2021.
The entire 8-km expressway, running from C3 up to the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sta. Mesa in Manila, will be finished by 2022.
“Right-of-way delivery for the whole alignment stands at 81 percent, while construction progress is at 16 percent,” said Public Works Secretary Mark Villar in a statement on Wednesday (Jan. 20).
“With the commitment of both the public and private sectors, we are optimistic that we can finish the project as scheduled,” Villar said.
Once finished, the P23 billion project will have four toll plazas and interchanges in C3 and España. Similar to the Skway Stage 3, it will cut travel time between NLEx and the South Luzon Expressway to just 20 minutes from almost two hours.
In 2020, DPWH, NLEx Corp. and Manila Electric Co. facilitated the clearing of electric facilities in Sta. Cruz, Manila.
More than 300 Meralco linemen simultaneously worked to clear a portion of the right-of-way. The activity involved the installation and retirement of around 160 electric poles, NLex Corp. said.
The NLex Connector will pass through Abad Santos, Blumentritt, Dimasalang, España, and Magsaysay Boulevard.
On Wednesday, the company said the project will use Super T girders. These are pre-stressed box girders that are widely used for bridges in Australia and New Zealand.
The newly installed Super T beams span 30 meters and weigh 53 tons.
“Compared to other types of girders, Super T beams are more flexible, structurally efficient, and aesthetically appealing,” the company said.
“Innovation is one of the core values of our company,” said NLEx Corp. president and general manager J. Luigi L. Bautista.
“We are using Super T beams to advance our construction progress so we can soon complete this crucial infrastructure that would help decongest Metro Manila and solve truck ban woes,” he said.
https://business.inquirer.net/316118/nlex-connector-road-to-slex-on-track-for-2022-completion
Finally! LRT-2 to reopen 3 stations after more than a year of closure
Who thought this wasn’t going to happen?
Finally, after more than a year of closure, the Light Rail Transit 2 (LRT-2) will be reopening its Santolan, Katipunan, and Anonas stations sometime this week.
It was in October 2019 when a power source in the Katipunan station burst in flames, crippling the train’s operations. Back then, the management said that it won’t take more than nine months to repair the train line and reopen the three stations, but well, here we are now.
But here’s the catch: the trains will be using a temporary source of power, which means the movement of the line will be slower than normal. Oof.
Hernando Cabrera, the spokesperson of the LRT-2, said in an interview with Unang Hirit's Unang Balita segment that they are conducting tests to make sure that the trains are working properly.
“We have finished our temporary power facilities which were made by the contractor and engineering department so we can restart the operations of these three stations,” he said in Filipino.
“We have prepared the staff, our ticketing personnel, security, maintenance so that once we get the safety clearance, we can operate,” he added.
“Our target is sometime within the week, safety clearance. Within the week we can resume operations with the passengers.”
LRT-2 has 11 stations all over Metro Manila, including in Marikina, Quezon City, and Manila.
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Monday, January 18, 2021
LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project is 50.61% complete, says DOTR
The Department of Transportation said Monday the construction of LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project is now more than halfway to completion.
The agency said the overall progress rate of the P64.9-billion LRT 1 Cavite Extension Project, funded by Light Rail Manila Corp., was 50.61 percent as of December 2020.
“The recent construction activities of this highly anticipated project features the bored piling, pier/portal column works, and the MIA station foundation works, altogether with the launching of PI girder which is the chief horizontal support in the structure made for turn back slots,” the DOTr said.
It said the accelerated pace of construction also included the expansion of the depot in Baclaran and the building of a new satellite depot at Zapote.
The 11.7-kilometer LRT-1 Cavite Extension project, which will extend LRT line 1 from Baclaran to Niog, Bacoor in Cavite, is expected to reduce travel time between Baclaran and Bacoor from 1 hour and 10 minutes to 25 minutes.
It is also projected to increase the line’s capacity to serve 500,000 to 800,000 passengers daily.
The agency said that with a mandate to fast track the construction of said project, the partial operation is expected by the end of 2021.
Phase 1 covers 7 km. of the 11-km. LRT-1 Cavite Extension, including the Redemptorist Station, MIA Station, Asiaworld Station, Ninoy Aquino Station and Dr. Santos Station.
The remaining stations between Las Piñas and Niog are scheduled to become fully-operational by 2022.
LRMC won the bidding for the 11.7-km. Cavite extension project and took over the operation of LRT Line 1 on Sept. 12, 2015.