The construction of the common station that will connect the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) will start earlier than expected or exactly one year after the dispute that had stalled the project for seven years due to cost overruns and alleged corruption had been resolved.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the government is now gearing up for the groundbreaking of the Common Station project in September, which he had originally moved to August from the December target.
Expected to be operational by April 2019, the common station that will link LRT Line 1 and MRT Lines 3 and 7 is a joint project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPH), Universal LRT Corporation (BVI) Limited of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC), Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), North Triangle Depot Commercial Corporation (NTDCC), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA).
“I have talked to some people about the common station. It’s supposed to break ground in December. That is what we announced. But after talking to some leaders in government including in Congress, more or less, we already agreed that the common station will be built based in DOTr’s recommendation,” Tugade told Business Bulletin.
“Originally, I want to ground break that in August but they said it’s the ghost month. So we decided to move it to September,” he added.
Ghost month is a Chinese festival celebrated on the seventh month of the lunar calendar or in August. During this time, investors, mostly Chinese, avoid doing major investment decisions.
It was in January this year when the memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the common station project has been finally signed after being stalled for many years.
The Common Station project was first brought to the table in 2009. Shortly after that, SMPH forged a R200-million contract with LRTA for the station to be built in front of The Annex at SM City North EDSA.
Four years later, the DOTr, formerly the Department of Transportation and Telecommunications (DOTC), came up with a decision to instead build the station near Ayala Land, Inc.’s Trinoma mall, a decision that was eventually disputed by SMPH.
The dispute led to a Supreme Court order temporarily stopping the development of the project and was eventually shelved.
The Common Station at the TriNoma will connect the LRT-1, MRT-3, and the future MRT-7 line. The project will also involve construction of head-to-head platforms for LRT 1 and MRT 3 with a 147.4-meter elevated “walkalator” to MRT 7 on North Avenue.
On November 21, 2013, former President Benigno Aquino III and his Cabinet approved seven infrastructure projects worth more than P100 billion, including the construction of a common station that would link Metro Manila’s two overhead train services near the TriNoma mall in Quezon City.
Approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board were the P62.7-billion Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT 7) project; P64.9-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT 1) South Extension Project; and the P1.4-billion LRT Line 1 North Extension Project.
LRT 1 currently runs from Baclaran to Roosevelt in Quezon City, while the MRT 3 runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the government is now gearing up for the groundbreaking of the Common Station project in September, which he had originally moved to August from the December target.
Expected to be operational by April 2019, the common station that will link LRT Line 1 and MRT Lines 3 and 7 is a joint project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPH), Universal LRT Corporation (BVI) Limited of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC), Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), North Triangle Depot Commercial Corporation (NTDCC), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA).
“I have talked to some people about the common station. It’s supposed to break ground in December. That is what we announced. But after talking to some leaders in government including in Congress, more or less, we already agreed that the common station will be built based in DOTr’s recommendation,” Tugade told Business Bulletin.
“Originally, I want to ground break that in August but they said it’s the ghost month. So we decided to move it to September,” he added.
Ghost month is a Chinese festival celebrated on the seventh month of the lunar calendar or in August. During this time, investors, mostly Chinese, avoid doing major investment decisions.
It was in January this year when the memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the common station project has been finally signed after being stalled for many years.
The Common Station project was first brought to the table in 2009. Shortly after that, SMPH forged a R200-million contract with LRTA for the station to be built in front of The Annex at SM City North EDSA.
Four years later, the DOTr, formerly the Department of Transportation and Telecommunications (DOTC), came up with a decision to instead build the station near Ayala Land, Inc.’s Trinoma mall, a decision that was eventually disputed by SMPH.
The dispute led to a Supreme Court order temporarily stopping the development of the project and was eventually shelved.
The Common Station at the TriNoma will connect the LRT-1, MRT-3, and the future MRT-7 line. The project will also involve construction of head-to-head platforms for LRT 1 and MRT 3 with a 147.4-meter elevated “walkalator” to MRT 7 on North Avenue.
On November 21, 2013, former President Benigno Aquino III and his Cabinet approved seven infrastructure projects worth more than P100 billion, including the construction of a common station that would link Metro Manila’s two overhead train services near the TriNoma mall in Quezon City.
Approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board were the P62.7-billion Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT 7) project; P64.9-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT 1) South Extension Project; and the P1.4-billion LRT Line 1 North Extension Project.
LRT 1 currently runs from Baclaran to Roosevelt in Quezon City, while the MRT 3 runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.
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