SMC plans MRT Loop to link Bulacan airport

Food-to-infrastructure conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) plans to build an MRT Loop with an airport express – similar to Hong Kong’s much-touted MTR – that would seamlessly connect Metro Manila to its planned aerotropolis in Bulacan.

The planned elevated train system will span some 200 kilometers and will connect SMC’s proposed New Manila International Airport (NMIA) in Bulakan, Bulacan to EDSA and various points in between, SMC president and COO Ramon Ang told reporters in an interview in his office.

While the stations are still being finalized, the MRT Loop is envisioned to include a non-stop high-speed train that would allow fast connection between EDSA and the Bulacan Airport.

“In 20 minutes, you will be at the airport,” Ang said.

He said this would be something like Hong Kong’s famous MTR which connects the airport and the city, and gives passengers the option for faster travel through the airport express line.


SMC is still finalizing the cost of the MRT Loop, but Ang said this would already be part of the total cost of the massive airport project estimated at $15 billion.

Aside from the mass transport system, SMC will also construct a $1 billion spillway for excess water from Angat and Ipo Dams to drain directly to the Manila Bay.

This, he said, would solve the perennial flooding problem in Bulacan.

“We need to finish the spillway in five to six years. Otherwise, it will destroy what we are building,” Ang said.

All these new infrastructure projects namely the MRT Loop, the Airport Express and the spillway are all intended to enhance the viability of SMC’s proposed Bulacan Airport and are targeted to be ready in five to six years.

“What we have is a complete masterplan,” Ang said.

He said the company could start operations of its proposed Bulacan Airport as early as six years upon approval of the $15-billion project, making it the fastest and most viable solution to the worsening problem at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

SMC’s strong balance sheet, he said, also shows that it has the financial muscle to fund the project on its own.

“Funding is not a problem. We have a strong balance sheet,” Ang said.

Ang trumpeted the proposal, saying that NMIA “will be the most modern airport in the country and would be a real game changer.”

Based on its blueprint, NMIA has the capability to have a total of four runways, with the first two already operational on the fifth year upon approval of the project, according to company documents. The last two runways will be operational by 2024.

To be developed on a 2,500-hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan, NMIA can accommodate 100 to 200 million people, a far cry from NAIA’s capacity of 30 million passengers.

Furthermore, NMIA will be capable of handling 60 aircraft movements per hour per runway compared to NAIA’s current runway capacity of 45 movements per hour, the project’s blueprint further showed.

More importantly, SMC said its proposal cuts the construction timeline by half as it would not require sea reclamation compared to the proposal to develop a new airport off Sangley Point in Cavite.

For the funding, SMC said the project would be entail no cost to the government.

In terms of contribution to the economy, SMC estimates that NMIA can contribute as much as P395 billion to the economy by 2025 and can generate 1.8 million jobs by that time.

Last April, the National Economic and Development Authority board gave the green light for SMC’s Bulacan airport project. But the project still needs to be subjected to a Swiss challenge.

Calls for a new premier international airport in the country are mounting after NAIA was marred by flight disruptions for at least 200 flights and at least 100,000 passengers were stranded after a Xiamen Airlines carrier veered off the runway last Aug. 16.

DOTr eyes deployment of 48 Dalian trains this year

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) targets to deploy the 48 trains that were purchased from Chinese firm CCRC Dalian Co. for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) within the year.

This developed as Dalian agreed to absorb the costs for the adjustments of the trains following the results of a study conducted by independent audit and assessment (IAA) consultant TUV Rheinland earlier this year.

The consultant's findings showed that the weights and measurements of the Dalian trains did not comply with DOTr's terms of reference.

The department is currently conducting negotiations with Japanese company Sumitomo-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd to take over MRT system's maintenance and rehabilitation.

“Our target for the deployment of the trains is within this year. We are also having ongoing talks with Sumitomo,” DOTr communications director Godess Hope Libiran said in a text message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) Thursday.

In a business forum earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade disclosed that Dalian has agreed to pay for the modifications that will be done on the trains during its meeting with Chinese government officials last week.

Tugade earlier said remedies to be done on the Dalian trains should not be shouldered by the Philippine government.

The issue on the Dalian trains must also be addressed as the DOTr prepares for the entry of a maintenance provider that will repair the train coaches and other facilities of the MRT.

The DOTr is eyeing Sumitomo to take over the maintenance operations of the MRT by the end of this month or September at the latest.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee has approved earlier this month the PHP22.061-billion MRT maintenance project.

The rehabilitation will increase the number of train sets in operation from 15 to 18 train sets per hour, increase the maximum speed to 60 kilometers per hour and decrease headway to 200 seconds. (PNA)

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1046484

LRMC to push through with Cavite extension despite fare hike delay

THE LIGHT RAIL Manila Corp. (LRMC) said it will push through with the construction of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite extension project despite possible delays in the implementation of a fare hike.

“We are already committed to building the Cavite Extension. We have already issued the Notice to Proceed to the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractors Bouygues and Alstom,” LRMC President Juan F. Alfonso told BusinessWorld in a text message on Thursday.

“We have completed the clearing operations for the pre-cast yard to give way to the plant where we will be fabricating the viaduct beams,” he added.

This comes after Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade told reporters on Tuesday that he hopes the private concessionaire for the LRT-1 wouldn’t let construction of the Cavite extension rely on the approval of its fare hike.

“Dapat ‘wag nilang sabihin na yung extension sa LRT-1 depende sa rate increase [They shouldn’t say that the LRT-1 extension will depend on the rate increase],” Mr. Tugade said.

In July, the LRT-1 operator said the fare hike “will assure the construction of (the train’s) extension to Sucat, Las Piñas and Bacoor,” as banks would be more open to lend funds for the company if it can recover its investment.

But Mr. Alfonso noted its concession agreement indicates the government should allow a 5% increase in LRT-1 fares every two years.

LRMC filed an application to the Department of Transportation (DoTr) in March for a P5 to P7 hike in LRT-1 fares. It was supposed to be implemented within August, but Mr. Tugade said no public hearing has been conducted yet.

“Pinag-uusapan pa po yan, may public hearing pa po yan. Pagkatapos ng public hearing may publication, and then the decision making [It’s still under discussion, there will be a hearing. After the public hearing, it will be published, then the decision making],” Mr. Tugade said.

The Transportation secretary also said the government is not open to subsidizing any LRT-1 fare increase.

“Kasi hindi kami naniniwala sa subsidiya. Kung ikaw mag-nenegosyo sa gobyerno, dapat walang guarantee, walang subsidiya, walang contractual commitment [We don’t believe in subsidies. If you’re doing business with the government, they should be no guarantee, no subsidies, no contractual commitment],” Mr. Tugade said.

For his part, Mr. Alfonso said, “As far as fare hike is concerned, we are still applying and hoping to secure approval within the year.”

Metro Pacific Investment Corp. is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group.

Tugade: LRT 1 should not make infrastructure construction dependent on fare increase

COMPANIES—particularly those engaged in big-ticket projects—should stop making the government a “hostage” by saying the construction of vital infrastructure is dependent on tariff increases under their concession agreements.

This was how Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade answered a question pertaining to updates on the fare-hike petition submitted by Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1.

“It is being discussed. But they should not say the extension of the LRT is dependent on the rate increase. They should not make us a hostage,” he said on the sidelines of a recent forum hosted by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines.

He was alluding to a July 12 statement made by LRMC President Juan F. Alfonso, who said the rate increase will “assure” the construction of the first phase of the Cavite extension of the train line, as this will “give banks the confidence to lend the company funds” for the project.

Sought for comment, Alfonso noted his group will move forward with the construction of the extension even without the tariff adjustment.

“We are already committed to building the Cavite extension. We have already issued the notice to proceed to the engineering, procurement and construction contractors Bouygues and Alstom,” he told the BusinessMirror.

He added his group has completed the clearing operations for the pre-cast yard to give way to the plant where the company will be fabricating the viaduct beams.

The yard is located in Sucat, Parañaque.

“As far as fare hike is concerned, we are still applying and hoping to secure approval within the year,” Alfonso said.

The company is seeking an increase of about P5 to P7, resulting in P25 in average fares, or about the same price as bus rides.

Currently, fares for LRT 1 rides range from P15 to P30. Since it took over the train line in 2015, no fare adjustment has been implemented so far.

The provision for a 5-percent tariff adjustment every two years is spelled out in the concession agreement signed between the transportation department and the private company.

The current fare in LRT 1 is P15, P20 and P30, depending on distance traveled.

Based on the concession agreement, Alfonso said earlier, the government may provide for subsidy if it will not approve the fare adjustment.

Tugade noted this group is not keen on giving any form of subsidy for the fare increase.

“No. Not at this time. We don’t believe in subsidy. If you will do business with the government, there should be no form of subsidy and guarantee,” he said.

For now, Tugade said stakeholders should “wait” for the process to be completed. It is currently soliciting comments from the public as to the fare adjustment.

Alfonso said the company is keen on starting the full-blast construction of the extension by October.

Targeted for completion in about four years after the delivery of easement, the 11.7-kilometer Cavite extension will connect into the existing system immediately south of the Baclaran Station and run in a generally southerly direction to Niyog, Cavite.

It will consist of elevated guideways throughout the majority of the alignment, except for the guideway section at Zapote, which will be located at grade.

Eight new stations will be provided with three intermodal facilities across Pasay City, Parañaque City, Las Piñas City and Cavite. The new stations are Redemptorist, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote and Niyog. The intermodal facilities shall be located at Dr. Santos, Zapote and Niyog.

The new stations will be accessible to and from nearby community facilities, such as shops, schools, stadium and park, and will be located to suit passenger-flow routes from residential areas.

Pedestrian access to all new stations will be direct, safe and easy. Details, such as lighting to distinguish access points, pedestrian-cross striping and curb cuts for handicapped access, will be provided.

The company has invested P7.5 billion in the railway system so far since it took over in 2015.

LRMC is a company led by conglomerates Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp. in partnership with Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/tugade-lrt-1-should-not-make-infra-construction-dependent-on-fare-increase/

DOTr eyes deployment of 48 Dalian trains this year

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) targets to deploy the 48 trains that were purchased from Chinese firm CCRC Dalian Co. for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) within the year.

This developed as Dalian agreed to absorb the costs for the adjustments of the trains following the results of a study conducted by independent audit and assessment (IAA) consultant TUV Rheinland earlier this year.

The consultant’s findings showed that the weights and measurements of the Dalian trains did not comply with DOTr’s terms of reference.

The department is currently conducting negotiations with Japanese company Sumitomo-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd to take over MRT system’s maintenance and rehabilitation.

“Our target for the deployment of the trains is within this year. We are also having ongoing talks with Sumitomo,” DOTr communications director Godess Hope Libiran said in a text message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) Thursday.

In a business forum earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade disclosed that Dalian has agreed to pay for the modifications that will be done on the trains during its meeting with Chinese government officials last week.

Tugade earlier said remedies to be done on the Dalian trains should not be shouldered by the Philippine government.

The issue on the Dalian trains must also be addressed as the DOTr prepares for the entry of a maintenance provider that will repair the train coaches and other facilities of the MRT.

The DOTr is eyeing Sumitomo to take over the maintenance operations of the MRT by the end of this month or September at the latest.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee has approved earlier this month the PHP22.061-billion MRT maintenance project.

The rehabilitation will increase the number of train sets in operation from 15 to 18 train sets per hour, increase the maximum speed to 60 kilometers per hour and decrease headway to 200 seconds.

http://www.canadianinquirer.net/2018/08/30/dotr-eyes-deployment-48-dalian-trains-year/

Dalian agrees to absorb cost of fixing MRT trains — Tugade

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) is targeting to deploy the trains manufactured by Chinese firm CRRC Dalian Co. for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) by the end of the year, after securing the Chinese firm’s assurance it will shoulder the costs of any modifications.

“Pumayag na ang Dalian na kung mayroong kailangang baguhin, gastos nila. Yung spare parts, gastos nila [Dalian has agreed that for the modifications needed for the trains, they will pay for it. For the spare parts, they will pay for it],” Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade told reporters after a forum on Tuesday.

Mr. Tugade said the matter of the 48 Dalian railcars, which have not been used since it was delivered in 2016 due to compatibility issues, was discussed during a meeting with Chinese government officials last week.

He said the Dalian railcars will have to be integrated into the MRT-3 system.

“Syempre kailangan kausapin din namin ‘yun para ma-integrate ‘yun. Kasi kung hindi mo i-integrate ‘yun, pag inumpisahan yung repair, how can I achieve 600,000 ridership [Of course we need to talk to them, too so we may successfully integrate the trains. If not, when the repair starts, how will I achieve a ridership of 600,000],” Mr. Tugade said.

The government hired third party auditor TUV Rheinland to assess the needed adjustments on the train sets. The review began in January and the results were submitted to the DoTr in July, but has not been disclosed to the public.

“Sinabi naman sa international audit report na hindi naman critical sa safety ng pasahero at nung system. Kaya nag-uusap din [The international audit report said it is not critical to the safety of passengers and to the system. That’s also why we’re holding discussions],” Mr. Tugade said of the proposed modifications to the rail cars.

Almost two weeks ago, the National Economic and Development Authority’s Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) also approved the P22.061-billion restoration and maintenance project on the MRT-3. It is now up to the NEDA Board chaired by President Rodrigo R. Duterte to greenlight the project.

The DoTr is also looking to secure a deal with Sumitomo Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo-MHI) by the end of the month or in September to handle the maintenance of the MRT-3. — Denise A. Valdez with report from Arra B. Francia

http://www.bworldonline.com/dalian-agrees-to-absorb-cost-of-fixing-mrt-trains-tugade/

Leighton bags NLEX Harbor Link exit project

NLEX Corporation awarded Leighton Asia the contract to build the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Harbor Link Segment 10 — R10 exit ramp project, the latter’s parent company CIMIC Group said on Tuesday.

In a statement, CIMIC said the project will generate around A$140 million in revenue for Leighton Asia, which is under CIMIC Group’s construction company CPB Contractors.

The company said construction work includes a 2.6-kilometer dual, elevated tollway that will connect the existing NLEX Segment 10 Road to the R10 road, as well as ramps, roadworks, electrical and mechanical works, and landscaping.

The Harbor Link Segment 10 — R10 exit ramp project is targeted to be completed by late 2019.

CIMIC Group Chief Executive Officer Michael Wright noted Leighton Asia has been part of the NLEX project’s development since its first phase of construction in 1998.

“The award of this further work reflects our productive and enduring relationship with both Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) and its subsidiary, NLEX Corporation, and is a testament to the high-quality transport infrastructure solutions we provide,” Mr. Wright was quoted as saying in a statement.

Leighton Asia is also working with MPTC subsidiary MPCALA Holdings, Inc. to build the 28-kilometer, four-lane Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAx).

MPTC is the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

http://www.bworldonline.com/leighton-bags-nlex-harbor-link-exit-project/

Motoring Today | Motoring News: DPWH inspects NLEX Harbor Link Segment 1...

San Miguel set to start Quezon toll road project

The tollway unit of San Miguel Corp. will start the construction of the P13.1-billion Southern Luzon Expressway-Toll Road 4 that will extend the highway from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City in Quezon province this year, the Public Works Department said over the weekend.

“We are targeting to start the construction of an expressway from Star Toll to Lucena in Quezon by third quarter of the year,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.

Villar said the agency already acquired more than 5 kilometers of right of way for the project.

The four-lane, 58-kilometer expressway project is expected to make travel from Southern Tagalog provinces such as Batangas, Laguna and Quezon to Bicol Region faster and safer.

The project is divided into five sections. Section 1 covers Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Macban, Laguna (10.58 km); Macban, Laguna to San Pablo, Laguna (12.2 km); San Pablo, Laguna to Tiaong, Quezon (8.1-km); Tiaong to Candelaria, Quezon (14.4 km); and Candelaria to Lucena City, Quezon (12.31-km).

The project is expected to cut travel time between Sto. Tomas and Lucena to just one hour from the usual four hours. South Luzon Tollways Corp., a unit of San Miguel, is the proponent of the project.

SLEX-TR4 is the latest project in San Miguel’s infrastructure portfolio, which already includes the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, the Skyway Stage 3 project, the Naia Expressway project, the existing South Luzon Expressway and the recently upgraded and expanded Southern Tagalog Arterial Road or Star Tollway.

San Miguel also submitted an unsolicited proposal to the DPWH to extend TPLEx to San Juan, La Union from Rosario town for P23.95 billion.

The project involves a 59.4-kilometer four-lane toll road starting from the exit of TPLEx in Rosario to San Juan.  The Rosario section of the expressway is expected to be completed this year, while its Pozorrubio section opened in December 2017.

The extension project would be divided into three segments, with the first segment spanning 18 km from Rosario to Tubao.  The second segment will stretch 23 km from Tubao to Naguilian and the last segment will run 18.4 km from Naguilian to San Juan.

San Miguel said the project aimed to promote the development of Northern Luzon and facilitate connectivity to Central Luzon and Metro Manila through high-speed and secure access.

San Miguel earlier said it was looking to invest about P168 billion to construct modern tollroads and highways that are at par with those of neighboring Asian countries.

http://www.thestandard.com.ph/business/biz-plus/273989/san-miguel-set-to-start-quezon-toll-road-project.html

NLEE construction eyed in 2019 – Villar

By Franco Regala

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar is optimistic that the construction of the North-East Luzon Expressway (NELEX) can be started by 2019.

“We’ll finish the feasibility study this year and construction to start (hopefully) next year,” the secretary said in a recent interview.

He said that once NLEE is completed, portions of Maharlika Highway in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija will decongest. “It will also serve as fast alternative route for those vehicles bound for Cagayan Valley region. This will be connected to the Central Luzon Link Expressway,” Villar added.

NLEE is a 92.1-kilometer toll road that will start in Quezon City will traverse San Jose Del Monte City, Santa Maria, Norzagaray, Angat, San Ildefonso, and San Miguel in Bulacan as well as Gapan, Santa Rosa, and Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/23/nelex-construction-eyed-in-2019-villar/

We complicate things

An accomplished businessman wrote me to say we are needlessly complicating solutions to our problems:

“Inflation is going to eat into consumption unless we build infrastructure to bring in tourists.


“Build Build Build is being oversold. I guess that is the common thread of all administrations. Over promise and under deliver. Without doubt they should be managing expectations. But they should not have created them to start with... but more importantly… they need to focus on only two things:

“Infra for Manila traffic… elevated connector roads. Help Ramón Ang and MVP get the right of way. NLEX-SLEX connector, C6… etc;

“Infra for tourism. The southern airports; Clark and a new Manila airport. That is all the time they have.


“And how to finance it? First priority privatize… second, sell all the assets they have… SMC. Cocobank. All of NPC. etc..  They pride themselves in dividends… CAAP and PPA paying dividends… Mama mia. That is terrible. They should be building ports… Davao, Cebu, Manila all congested…

“Just look what happened when something was done…

“There were tons of traffic to MOA and the airport… San Miguel builds one measly NAIA expressway and the traffic disappeared… We do not have too many cars. We have too few roads… Two connector roads and C6 and you will see the change.”

I share his view. The bane of our existence as a nation is our propensity to complicate the simple. It is probably due to the number of surplus lawyers, specially in government, trying to make themselves appear useful.

It is also because of corruption endemic in our system. Officials and bureaucrats make things complicated because it is not easy to make illicit money when things or processes are simplified.

That was why I thought Duterte was different. He has this record of simplifying things in Davao City Hall. I was hoping he can do the same thing at the national level.

But the last two years showed the system is too entrenched for reform. Not even the much claimed political will of Duterte made a difference. Maybe he was too focused on drugs he didn’t try hard enough on other things.

Anyway, we need public officials who can reduce problems to simple terms. The previous and the current administrations failed to produce persons like that to head DOTr and DPWH.

The problems at NAIA are not new. It has a single international runway and has long exceeded the number of passengers it is rated to handle. Flights in and out are delayed costing airlines and passengers billions of pesos in losses. There is no room for a second parallel runway unless government has the political will to expropriate subdivisions in its periphery.

There is Clark, but too cumbersome for Metro Manila passengers. EDSA traffic makes the trip to the business center too punishing. There is talk of a fast train connection. But even then, Tugade talks of the service up to Tutuban only and not a fast train.

In the meantime, there are a number of unsolicited proposals to build a brand new international airport from scratch. The most advanced of these proposals is from San Miguel… no subsidy, no guarantee from government, all private risk.

It had been approved by the NEDA board in a meeting presided by President Duterte last April 26. It is a simple solution to the NAIA situation, but it is not moving.

That unfortunate accident at NAIA last week has exasperated people enough to ask in social media: what is keeping San Miguel from starting to build their dream airport? NEDA-ICC and DOF.

Apparently, the NEDA Board approved the project for Swiss challenge subject to final negotiations on the concession agreement.

NEDA-ICC and DOF were supposed to consolidate all comments of government agencies and then pass these on to DOTr for use as guidelines when it sits down with San Miguel for the final terms before Swiss challenge. DOTr had been waiting for NEDA-ICC and DOF to send those comments, but have received nothing over the last four months.

Under BOT rules, negotiation on the concession agreement must be concluded in 80 days after a notice of negotiation is issued by DOTr. We are not even there yet. Maybe middle of next year is being optimistic for construction to start.

Grapevine tells me DOF is sitting on it, worried that the project is too big to fail. Even if no explicit or implied government guarantees are involved, DOF is concerned about the health of the banks lending to San Miguel if the project fails. But banks are big boys and San Miguel’s lenders are international banks.

The NAIA modernization proposal of the Taipan consortium should also move fast because like the San Miguel airport, it also has original proponent status and urgently needed. But our bureaucracy has no sense of urgency. They love studying proposals to death.

 Sayang. The San Miguel airport proposal is urgently needed and is totally private risk. San Miguel is ready to operate the Bulacan airport without asking government to shut down NAIA.

 SMC’s proposed airport will be built on a 2,500-hectare property with up to six runways. It will be able to handle more than 100 million passengers a year.

As a bonus, the airport project will help address Bulacan’s perennial flooding problem by building a spillway to discharge excess water from denuded watersheds directly to Manila Bay. 

Our problems are simple and so are the solutions. Our bureaucrats just insist on complicating things.

Enough of that now. We have no time to waste, not with a fast growing population that is sinking deeper into poverty unless we grow a lot faster.

Jelly fish

The fact that jellyfish has survived 650 million years without brains gives hope to many people.

(Not sure how true. And I am not necessarily thinking of our bureaucrats.)

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco

https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/08/24/1845198/we-complicate-things

PHL, China accelerating implementation of infra projects

BEIJING—Manila and Beijing have affirmed their commitment to speed up the preparation and processes needed to ensure the timely implementation of the Duterte administration’s flagship infrastructure projects with financial support from China.

In a meeting here with the People’s Republic of China’s State Councilor and Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi Wednesday night (Aug. 22), Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the preparation for the projects to be implemented by the Philippines in cooperation with China “have already been moving quite fast ahead,” particularly the South Long Haul Manila-Bicol Railway and the Clark-Subic Railway projects.

“Under the guidance of President Duterte, we have been working very hard to achieve both the goals of President Duterte and President Xi Jinping in the development of the relationship between China and the Philippines,” Dominguez said during the meeting.

Minister Wang, for his part, said that “what is needed now (are) specific and concrete actions to move forward (our) practical cooperation across the board.”

“What I hope you and our other friends sitting here today will do is to have more communication with your counterparts so that jointly, we can fully tap the potential of our cooperation,” Minister Wang said.

Also at the meeting were the other members of the Philippine delegation, including Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade; Vivencio Dizon, president-CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA); and other senior government officials.

Minister Wang said bilateral relations between the Philippines and China have vastly improved and “entered a fast track of development under the guidance of President Duterte and President Xi.”

“There are many works of cooperation to be advanced. I hope and I believe, through your current visit, we will reach even more consensus and cooperation between our two countries to deliver even greater benefits to the Chinese and Filipino people and make our respective contributions to regional peace and stability,” Minister Wang said.

Dominguez, for his part, said that since President Duterte assumed office, “the relationship (between the two countries) has become very close.”

He informed Minister Wang that the Philippines has “received a lot of investments from your country as well as tourists have been coming in (from China).”

Minister Wang informed Dominguez and the rest of the Philippine delegation that he and his counterpart, Secretary Cayetano “and our two foreign ministries will coordinate with other respective departments to do as much as we can to foster a sound condition (and) atmosphere for the economic cooperation between our two countries.”

The warm relations between the two countries since President Duterte assumed office in 2016 has led to rising Chinese investments in the Philippines.

Net foreign direct investment (FDI) from China for the period January-May 2018 registered a 534 percent increase over the net FDI from that country for the whole 2017. Total approved investments from China, meanwhile, grew by 57.14 percent over the previous year.

Bilateral trade with China has also increased since 2017, with total trade between the two countries reaching $13.9 billion in the first half of 2018.

The number of Chinese tourists entering the Philippines hit almost one million in 2017. The Philippines’ target for 2018 is to bring in 1.5 million tourists from China.

Naia-BGC link to start in 2019

Gov’t agency reviewing details of proposed expressway extension

An elevated toll road linking Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig and Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport might soon be underway.

Alex Bote, who heads the Public Private Partnership (PPP) service of the Department of Public Works and Highways, said in an interview that San Miguel Corp.’s offer to extend its Naia Expressway project all the way to BGC was currently being studied.

“It’s already been submitted,” Bote said, while explaining that the project was an extension of the Naia Expressway and not an unsolicited proposal.

He did not give added details, but noted that they expected the project to start “definitely by next year.”

SMC revealed its plans to extend the 7.7-kilometer Naia Expressway last year. This is seen to ease traffic on the Sales Bridge and cut travel time from the Coastal Road, the Naia passenger terminals and SM Mall of Asia to BGC.

This will reduce road congestion around the areas of Magallanes and Edsa-Pasay. SMC noted that it would also build new ramps from the Naia Terminal 1 and 2 areas all the way to SM City Sucat, where it connects to the C5 extension project.

The Naia Expressway is among the successful PPP projects bid out under the Aquino administration. SMC won the project in 2013 after it outbid sole rival Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

However, delays in the delivery of right-of-way, a perennial issue for infrastructure projects, apart from power and water utilities that needed to be relocated along its alignment, postponed its completion. The Naia Expressway finally opened in September 2016.

Toll roads are a key part of SMC’s ambitious diversification strategy, which was launched more than a decade ago.

It is also a main driver of the company’s infrastructure assets under San Miguel Holdings Corp. SMC’s infrastructure business posted P12.14 billion in revenues in the first semester of the year, still a fraction of the group’s almost P500 billion in sales.

Infrastructure revenues were up 11 percent year-on-year “on the back of continuous growth in traffic volume at all operating toll roads.” Its operating income was up 19 percent to P6.22 billion during the first half of 2018.

Contributions are expected to rise as SMC implements a massive pipeline of road projects, valued at around P554 billion when it was announced last year.

Included in the pipeline were the San Pedro-C6 Laguna Lake Road, Tanauan-Tagaytay Expressway or Sky 8, the extension of SLEx to Matnog, Sorsogon, Sky 7 linking Taguig to Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, the Buendia Interchange and ramp extension to Macapagal Boulevard, and the Sky 9 “Pasig River alignment.”

SMC’s existing portfolio includes the South Luzon Expressway, Metro Manila Skyway, Tarlac Pangasinan La Union Expressway, Star toll road and Naia Expressway.

https://business.inquirer.net/256035/naia-bgc-link-start-2019

Parañaque Integrated bus terminal launch set late August

MANILA — The Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) is set to be launched by the end of this month as its construction is nearly completed, an official of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Wednesday.

“We will have a soft launch by the last week of August,” DOTr Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark de Leon said in a text message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

The terminal facility is expected to reduce the number of buses from provinces in the south of Metro Manila and ease traffic flow along the areas of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Baclaran and Taft Avenue.

The construction of the PITX is now 96 percent complete with its online ticketing and booking system and radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging system of buses still to be concluded, according to the DOTr.

“PITX aims to provide seamless interconnectivity of the different modes of transportation from the neighboring provinces south of Metro Manila to ensure a safe, convenient, and hassle-free travel experience for the commuting public,” it said through its Facebook page.

The PITX, which will be the first intermodal transport in the country, is projected to accommodate up to 200,000 train, jeepney and bus passengers per day.

The terminal will connect passengers coming from the Cavite side to other transport systems such as the future LRT Line 1 South Extension, city bus, taxi, and other public utility vehicles that are serving inner Metro Manila.

It will feature passenger terminal buildings, loading and unloading bays, staging bays, ticketing and baggage handling facilities, as well as park-ride facilities. Commuters can also make use of the free Wi-Fi, charging outlets and an online ticketing system.

The DOTr is pushing for the implementation of the intermodal transport system to ease traffic congestion in the metropolis.

Under the system, provincial buses will no longer be allowed to traverse along major roads in Metro Manila. Terminals will be installed outside the metropolis as these buses and passengers will be linked to other modes of public transportation. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)

Ayala-SM Group’s proposed C3 Expressway encounters hitches

The Department of Public Works and Highways has cited a possible alignment problem with the unsolicited proposal submitted by AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and SM Investments Corp. to build the P23.7 billion C3 elevated expressway.

Alex Bote, director of the DPWH Public-Private Partnership Service, said there was some conflict in the alignment of the planned C3 expressway that will connect cities of Manila, Makati and Pasay, with the C3 Missing Link Project.

“We’re not sure if they’re revising the proposal. We will declare completeness of the review once they have threshed out the problem, “ Bote said.

The elevated toll road will run from Sta. Mesa, Manila up to the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.

AC Infrastructure and SMIC offered to construct and operate the proposed 8.6 kilometer C3 for a period of 35 years.

The C3 Missing Link project, on the other hand, involves the construction of a 5.22 km six-lane road that will connect the end of existing C3 Road in N.Domingo St. in San Juan to Buendia Ave. in Makati City.

According to the Ayala-SM Group, C3 will provide an alternative to Edsa, which is now congested and improve access to the Manila Bay development areas, the Makati central business district and the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan and Manila.

http://bilyonaryo.com.ph/2018/08/22/ayala-sm-groups-proposed-c3-expressway-encounters-hitches/

C3 Expressway in conflict with another project—DPWH official

The unsolicited proposal by AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and SM Investments Corp. to build the P23.7-billion Circumferential Road 3 Elevated Expressway has an alignment conflict with another expressway project, according to the Public Works Department.

Alex Bote, director of DPWH Public-Private Partnership Service, said the planned  8.6-kilometer C3 Expressway that would pass the Ayala central business district and connect cities of Manila, Makati, and Pasay, would have a conflict in terms of alignment with the C3 Missing Link Project.

The C3 Missing Link is among the 75 high-impact infrastructure flagship projects approved by the National Economic and Development Authority.

“We’re not sure if they’re revising the proposal. It has a minor conflict with C3 Missing link. This is unsolicited, everything will come from the proponent. We will declare completeness [review] once it is clean,” Bote said.

AC Infrastructure, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Corp. and SM Investments Corp., submitted their proposal to the Public Works Department to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain for a period of 35 years the proposed C3 Elevated Expressway.

The elevated toll road will run about 8.6 kilometers from Sta. Mesa, Manila to the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.

The proponents said C3 Expressway would provide an alternative to Edsa, which was now congested, and improve access to the Manila Bay development areas, the Makati central business district and the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan and Manila.

The project would have five interchanges located in Sta. Mesa, the Circuit Makati, Ayala-Gil Puyat, Roxas Boulevard and SM Mall of Asia complex.

Meanwhile, Bote said the Japan International Cooperation Agency was set to complete the feasibility study for the C3 Missing Link Project this year.

The P10.3-billion C3 Missing Link project involves the construction of a 5.22-km six-lane road that will connect the end of existing C3 Road at N. Domingo St. in San Juan City to Buendia Ave., Makati City.

The project includes the construction of a 1.19-km four-lane elevated double-deck road, a 0.63-km six-lane road, a 2.98-km six-lane elevated single deck road, a 0.42-km six-lane road, service roads, intersections, culverts and related infrastructure and the installation of signaling systems.

http://www.thestandard.com.ph/business/transport-tourism/273659/c3-expressway-in-conflict-with-another-project-dpwh-official.html

MRT 7 project showcases DOTr’s incompetence, once again!

LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God…” (John 1:12-13, the Holy Bible)

MRT 7 PROJECT SHOWCASES DOTr’S INCOMPETENCE, ONCE AGAIN: It cannot be denied, many of those who serve in government, particularly in agencies that have, unfortunately, something to do with public works projects worth trillions or billions of pesos, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) now under the controversial Secretary Arthur Tugade included, have serious mental issues affecting their capability to uphold the interest and welfare of the country and its people.

Let us take the MRT 7 project as an example. Now, it is facing serious problems because there is a great obstacle towards its completion, simply because the purchase by the government of the parcel of land which would be used as a depot has not been finalized yet. Imagine, the DOTr is now spending billons for this MRT 7 project despite the fact that it has not perfected yet the purchase of the land to be used as a depot!

The DOTr is trying to pass the blame to a judge in Malolos City, allegedly because he allowed the owner of the land to be paid by the government an additional P510 million for his property. In the face of all these, it is the DOTr which should be blamed and castigated, for yet another display of incompetence and inefficiency. How on earth did it decide to start the MRT 7 project, spending billions in government funds already, even if a prime portion of it, the land for the depot, had not been acquired yet?

JESUS IS THE “MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER” ACCORDING TO ISAIAH 7:14, 9:6:  It is indeed gratifying to see that many Bible scholars around the world accept the position that a prophecy made in Isaiah 9:6 of the Bible, made some 700 years before Jesus was born, got fulfilled when Jesus was born to Mary, the virgin mother, in a humble manger in Bethlehem.

What this means is that, all the experts and authorities on the Bible are one in the belief that the baby boy referred to in Isaias 9:6, Jesus, is the “Might God, Everlasting Father” Himself. This means that Jesus is God and Savior, and is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Happily, this is the same belief espoused by the Children of God Blood Kin of the Christ Church (or AND KNK, Simbahang Anak ng Diyos Kadugo Ni Kristo).

Isaiah 9:6 is definitely a mere continuation of Isaiah 7:14, where it was prophesied that the event involving the virgin and

her baby boy would be signs from God the Father Himself. Isaiah 9:6 explains what, or who, is the baby boy that Isaiah 7:14 mentioned—- the boy that was conceived, and given birth to, as a man with flesh and blood, by a virgin woman, who is a human being, too. Isaiah 9:6 says that this baby boy is  the “Mighty God, Everlasting Father”, no more no less.


BP 22 ON BOUNCING CHECKS: This is a question from someone who sought legal assistance from “Bitag ni Ben Tulfo”: “Does a person who issued a check that bounced, because that person lost his work and his ability to pay, still have any liability? In our case, the payee of the check and I entered into a new agreement that would allow me to pay the amount of the checks that bounced monthly, at a great lower sum. Does this agreement have any effect on the checks that bounced?”

Here was the answer of the LAWYERS IN THE LIGHT (o Lawyers Instructed on Godliness, Humility, and Truth): First, whenever a check bounces or is dishonored for lack of funds, criminal liability attaches to the issuer immediately. As long as the check bounced, the drawer or issuer becomes liable for Batas Pambansa 22, for bouncing checks.

However, since the drawer and the payee of the check that bounced entered into a new agreement allowing the drawer to instead pay the check in some way or another (either cash or installment), the drawer’s criminal liability is deemed to have been extinguished, because of what is known as a “novation of contract”. The new agreement whereby the drawer will instead pay for the value of the bounced checks gives rise to a new agreement.

FOR QUESTIONS, REACTIONS: If anyone would like to ask me any question about what the burning issues of the  day mean, or what we have discussed here, or to consult on any problem, whatever it may be, please call 0917 984 24 68, or email me at batasmauricio@yahoo.com, or post your concerns at www.facebook.com/attybatas.  Promise, I will answer right away. Thank God in the Name of Jesus, Amen! (By Atty. Batas Mauricio) -30-

San Miguel may get go signal for TPLEx extension by next month

THE DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said it is looking to give San Miguel Corp. (SMC) by next month the original proponent status (OPS) for its proposal to extend the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx).

“Sa TPLEx malapit na kami magbigay ng OPS…. Maximum siguro is next month [We’re giving the OPS to TPLEx soon…. Maybe the maximum is next month],” DPWH Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Director Alex G. Bote told reporters on Thursday.

In February, SMC submitted to the government a P23.948-billion unsolicited proposal to build a 59.4-kilometer toll road extending the TPLEx from Rosario, La Union to San Juan, La Union.

The extension has three sections, namely Rosario to Tubao, Tubao to Naguilian, then Naguilian to San Juan.

DPWH Build, Build, Build Committee Chairperson Anna Mae Y. Lamentillo told reporters on Friday that while the proposal for the extension is still under review, they are positive the third phase of the original alignment of TPLEx will be completed by 2019.

“We’re confident that we would be able to finish or to open the entire alignment by next year,” she said.

The original alignment of the 89.31-kilometer TPLEx is divided into three segments: the stretch from Tarlac City to Rosales, Pangasinan; then from there to Urdaneta City, Pangasinan; then from there to Rosario, La Union.

Right of way acquisition and construction of a portion of the third section is on-going. The third section, which stretches from Pozorrubio in Pangasinan to Rosario in La Union, is scheduled to open in June 2019.

SMC is also the government’s private concessionaire for the TPLEx project. — Denise A. Valdez

http://www.bworldonline.com/san-miguel-may-get-go-signal-for-tplex-extension-by-next-month/

SMC may get original proponent status for extension of TPLEx

THE public works department may grant next month the original proposal status to San Miguel Corp. (SMC) for its unsolicited proposal for the extension of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx), a government official said.

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Officer in Charge for public-private partnerships (PPP) Alex G. Bote said his group is nearing the completion of the due diligence it is conducting for the review of the multibillion-peso proposal of San Miguel.

“We are nearing the granting of the original proponent status for the TPLEx extension. The maximum time to do it is maybe next month,” he said in an interview.  A document from the web site of the DPWH showed San Miguel submitted a P23.95-billion proposal for a three-segment extension of TPLEx, all the way to San Juan, La Union.

The project involves a 59.4-kilometer four-lane toll road, which will start from the last exit of the TPLEx in Rosario, La Union, and will terminate at San Juan, La Union.  It is divided into the following segments: Rosario-Tubao (18 km), Tubao-Naguilian (23 km) and Naguilian-San Juan (18.4 km).

The proposal was submitted on February 14 this year.

San Miguel is the concessionaire for the TPLEx.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/smc-may-get-original-proponent-status-for-extension-of-tplex/

Government set to approve TPLEx extension to San Juan

The Public Works Department is expected to grant the original proponent status to San Miguel Holdings Corp. for the P23.95-billion extension of Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway to San Juan, La Union next month.
“Maximum of next month, we will issue OPS for TPLEx extension,” Alex Bote, director of DPWH Public-Private Partnership, said.

San Miguel’s unsolicited project involves a 59.4-kilometer four-lane toll road starting from the exit of TPLEx in Rosario to San Juan.  The Rosario section of the expressway is expected to be completed this year, while its Pozorrubio section opened in December 2017.

The extension project would be divided into three segments, with the first segment spanning 18 km from Rosario to Tubao.  The second segment will stretch 23 km from Tubao to Naguilian and the last segment will run 18.4 km from Naguilian to San Juan.

San Miguel said the project aimed to promote the development of Northern Luzon and facilitate connectivity to Central Luzon and Metro Manila through high-speed and secured access.

San Miguel-led Private Infra Dev Corp. holds the concession for TPLEx, an 88.85-km, four-lane, high-speed toll road that connects Northern Luzon to Manila. It is designed to integrate with other major toll roads such as North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. 

The construction of TPLEx began in 2010 in three phases. The first was completed in April 2014, running from Tarlac City to Carmen, Pangasinan.

The second stretching from Carmen to Urdaneta was completed in December 2014. The third section from Urdaneta to Rosario, La Union is expected to be completed in 2018.

TPLEx reduced travel time from Tarlac City to Gerona from 45 minutes to 10 minutes, benefitting 8,000 vehicles per day.

It reduced travel time from Tarlac City to Paniqui, Tarlac from one hour to 15 minutes and the travel time from Tarlac to Rosales from two hours to 30 minutes.

It also cut travel time from Tarlac to Urdaneta from two hours to 30 minutes and the travel time from Tarlac to Rosario from 3.5 hours to one hour.

http://manilastandard.net/business/transport-tourism/273579/government-set-to-approve-tplex-extension-to-san-juan.html

DOTr, NEDA: MRT-3 Rehabilitation to Push Through This Year

Good news to all motorists who use the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) to commute daily: The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) stated that the PHP22.061 billion allotted for the said project will be implemented near the end of 2018 and continue until next year.

“It is set to start implementation in the third quarter of 2018 and be completed in the first quarter of 2021,” said NEDA.

The project will be mostly financed by a loan from Sumitomo Corp. of Japan. According to the NEDA Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee, they will sign the deal “by the end of August; if not mid-September.”

“Dokumento na lang po ang ginagawa (The contract is being finalized),” said Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade. He also added that the MRT 3’s rehabilitation can be completed in “32-34 months.”

According to the secretary, the entire railway, coaches, and everything else will be repaired once the MRT-3 rehabilitation pushes through. This move will also make its operations more efficient.

“The project will increase the number of train sets in operation to 18 from 15 per hour and enable them to reach a maximum speed to 60 kilometers per hour, among other performance criteria,” he explained.

NEDA Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Prenia added:

“With the upcoming rehabilitation of the MRT 3, we expect improvements in service efficiency and security of the existing train line,” he said. “Over the long term, we envision the MRT to be a very convenient and efficient mode of transportation that will encourage car owners to shift to public transportation, thereby reducing traffic congestion in Metro Manila.”

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/dotr-neda-mrt-3-rehabilitation-080043379.html

DOTr vows to improve airports ops nationwide

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has vowed to implement a roadmap that will improve the operations of airports in the country after a Xiamen Air jet skidded off the runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Thursday night resulting in thousands of stranded passengers due to delayed flights.

In a statement Tuesday, the DOTr said it is improving the facilities and structures of existing gateways, such as NAIA Terminals 1-4 and building alternative airports, such as Sangley and Bulacan to decongest NAIA.

It will also be establishing air traffic control and management systems.

Meanwhile, the DOTr reiterated that safety protocols were implemented in removing the aircraft, noting that the NAIA management took several hours to remove the aircraft due to its massive weight and highly-combustible material that might cause fire or explosions.

“Recovering a disabled aircraft is far different from towing a bus or a car. There are technical protocols (ICAO standards) and intervening factors that all international airports observe in recovering a disabled aircraft,” the DOTr said.

“In the case of the recent Xiamen incident, please note that in addition to its size and weight, there were also four tons of unused fuel at the wings that are highly combustible, necessitating extra care to avoid fire or explosion. Apart from passengers, we also think about the safety of the rescuers. One false move, the plane might explode,” it added.

A high capacity telescopic crane was also deployed to lift the plane as it landed on a muddy terrain amid heavy rains and strong winds.

The DOTr said the incident will serve as a reminder to review the Air Passenger Bill of Rights and intervention measures between the airlines and airport management, assess equipment inventory and improve the training modules at airports in cases of emergencies.

The DOTr also appealed for the understanding of the public as it moves to resolve the issue.

“We appeal to the public, and our fellow public servants in government, as well as those from the media and private sector, to work hand in hand with us in resolving this issue. Allow us to work first so that we can address the problem entirely. Accusing, sowing intrigues and maligning our offices and officials will not help at this time,” it said. (PNA)

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1045496

MRT-7 construction delays due to right of way issues: DOTr

Completion of the MRT-7 project was moved to August 2020 from August 2019 after hitting another roadblock in the acquisition of the 33-hectare depot in San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan, a transport official said Tuesday.

The 33.2 hectare property will be used for the San Jose Station and an inter-model transport terminal, Asec. Giovanni Lopez for Procurement and Project Implementation of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) told DZMM.

Delays were attributed to a Malolos court ruling that favored a land owner who sought a higher zonal value of the property at P1,800 per square meter from the original Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) valuation of P200 per sqm, Lopez said.

Under the ruling, the acquisition cost of the depot ballooned to P580 million from P67 million, or almost half of the P1.65 billion right of way budget for the whole MRT 7 project, he said.

“Ngayon po dahil sa utos ng husgado eh kahalati na po ng budget ubos na ho. Ano pong magiging epekto nito? Ang magiging epekto nito tataas po ang cost ng proyekto. Pag tumaas ang presyo dadaan na naman yan sa NEDA for approval. Madedelay na naman,” he said.

He said the transport department is set to appeal the decision by filing a petition for Certiorari this month.

The MRT-7 is a public-private partnership between the government and San Miguel Corp.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/08/21/18/mrt-7-construction-delays-due-to-right-of-way-issues-dotr

SMC’s tollway company raises profit to P791-million

The tollways unit of San Miguel Corp. said net income rose 5 percent in the first six months of the year due to higher vehicle traffic volume.

South Luzon Tollways Corp. booked a net profit of P791.2 million in the January-to-June period from P750.6 million year-on-year.

The company’s toll revenues amounted to P1.55 billion, up six percent from last year’s P1.47 billion, driven by higher vehicle traffic volume.

SLTC attributed the increase in revenue during the period to the expansion of housing communities and vibrant consumer socio-economic activities and industrial development in the south of Manila.

“These developments enhanced the volume for class 1 vehicle. The traffic volume for class 3 vehicles also went up mainly due to the thriving Calabarzon, the second most densely populated region after NCR [National Capital Region],” SLTC said.

Earlier, SLTC said it would spend P14.85 billion to extend South Luzon Expressway by more than 56 kilometers from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Tayabas, Quezon.

The project is divided into five sections. Section 1 covers Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Macban, Laguna (11.32 km); Macban, Laguna to San Pablo, Laguna (12.2 km); San Pablo, Laguna to Tiaong, Quezon (7.5-km); Tiaong to Candelaria, Quezon (15 km) and Candelaria to Tayabas/Lucena, Quezon (10.93 km).

SLTC said the project would reduce travel time along the 58-kilometer stretch between Sto. Tomas and Lucena from four hours to one hour.

The company said the project would enhance the economic efficiency of the existing SLEx, allowing to meet the increasing demand of traffic volume due to the rapid growth population, urbanization and economic development of Quezon province and adjoining provinces.

The project is expected to be completed by 2021.

The expansion to TR4 is part of SLTC’s 30-year concession or until 2036.

http://manilastandard.net/business/corporate/273473/smc-s-tollway-company-raises-profit-to-p791-million.html

Team players?

Of late, a distressing trend has emerged among some of Duterte’s Cabinet members: Speaking out against each other in public.

Of course this isn’t the first time this has happened under any president. I can’t even say if it’s any better or worse than under previous presidencies. But that’s just a question of degree; and in any case it’s an alarming trend under a chief executive whose adulation by millions is matched by the vociferousness of the minority and the resources of their financial backers here and abroad.

The latest instance had Health Secretary Pincoy Duque criticizing the Energy Department for not bringing him into the loop when they decided to order the oil companies to start offering diesel fuel compliant with the 22-year-old
Euro-2 standard, not just the current Euro-4 standard.

Duque’s concern is that the older standard will allow dirtier, albeit slightly cheaper (by only 30 centavos per liter) diesel into the country. Whichever side you believe, what’s for sure is that the environmental lobby will take up arms over this, causing another headache for Duterte that might have been avoided if his men had remembered to talk to each other first.

This whole trend really started with the President’s economic managers. Over at DBM, Secretary Ben Diokno put his foot down on the cash-based approach to replace the obligation-based approach to budgeting favored by the Lower House.

The House leadership has already offered a compromise: a 15-month obligation-based budget, instead of the traditional two years, that lets Diokno tighten up on spending while addressing the discrepancy between the calendar-based fiscal year and the school year starting June, which would leave most of the 2nd semester in public schools unfunded under a cash approach.

But as of writing, Diokno won’t even talk to the congressmen about their compromise. Which makes me wonder who in fact is supposed to enjoy the exclusive power of the public purse.

For his part, Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez, after leading the charge against federalism based on unexamined numbers, is now questioning the decision to bring a third telco into the country. In his view, “the priority is to have a better regulatory environment,” evidently even more important than lining up behind a long-settled policy initiative like the third telco.

Well, I used to be the CFO of a well-known fixed-line telco some years back, and I can vouch for the outrageous offenses that the dominant telco got away with, up to and including outright defiance of the regulators at NTC.
That’s what real market power means. And the only way to cut down that power is to force the telco market to be shared more equitably.

Nobody’s questioning the brains of the economic team. But perhaps it’s their braininess that makes them forget sometimes that being team players is their number one job description, in their capacity as no more than alter egos of the President (under a system that is neither federal nor parliamentary).

***

One of the (many other) things going right under the economic team was government’s recent approval, under NEDA’s leadership, of the long-term rehabilitation and regular maintenance of the problem-plagued MRT-3 system, which will be financed by a 28-year, 38-billion yen Japanese loan charging annual interest of only 0.1 percent.

It may be recalled that MRT’s problems started when the previous administration replaced a first-class maintenance provider like Sumitomo with a third-rate local consortium, most likely to milk the system of funds for the LP’s 2016 campaign war chest. Thankfully that’s now behind us, though we’re still waiting for the scoundrels to be properly charged in court.

Over on the China end of things, Foreign Secretary Alan Cayetano will be visiting Beijing to firm up a joint submarine oil exploration deal with China, among other business prospects. Critics like Stratbase’s Dindo Manhit or UP maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal harrumphed that we should be ready to sue China abroad if they deviate from the deal, and make sure we’re not prevented later from doing exploration on our own.

To firm up the negotiating ground under us, we’d suggest holding the deal discussions in Manila, not Beijing. And to improve our negotiating strategy, our team might even solicit the advice of the lawyers who obtained that favorable UNCLOS ruling at The Hague. Even if it may have been ill-timed and ill-advised to run after that ruling, we might as well put it to good use now.

And going farther out to Russia, we’ve been politely advised by a senior US Defense Department official to “think very carefully” before buying submarines and other military goods from Russia. He warned about alleged Russian crimes in Crimea and the Ukraine, and reminded us that continuing to buy from the US ensures interoperability of systems (not to mention, I guess, availability of parts and upgrades down the road).

It’s tempting to tell this American official to stick his suggestion up where the sun don’t shine. But interoperability is in fact a valid concern since so much of our military hardware does come from the US. More importantly, if push comes to shove with the Chinese, it ain’t gonna be the Russians who’ll pull our nuts out of the fire. The special relationship we have with the adoptive home of so many Fil-Ams is worth looking after.

***

Let’s close on an inspiring note: Duterte’s plan to visit Israel early next month, at the invitation of their Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This will be the first visit there by a Philippine head of state since diplomatic ties were established between both countries in 1957. Agreements are expected to be signed on trade, labor, tourism, agriculture, counter-terrorism, and security.

As a matter of fact, Israeli-Philippine ties go back nearly two decades earlier than 1957, to the time of President Manuel Quezon, who gained a place on Israel’s Yad Vashem memorial to generous Gentiles by deciding to admit nearly 2,000 Jews fleeing the Nazi Holocaust. I’m proud to say that it was my grandfather Don Jorge Bocobo, then a senior member of Quezon’s Cabinet, who led this historic open-arms initiative.

This is one reason I’ve always been an Israel-phile, even before “Wonder Woman” Gal Gadot hit the silver screen. With so many Filipinos now working in that part of the world, it’s good to be on the sentimental good side of the Jewish state.

Readers can write me at gbolivar1952@yahoo.com.

DMCI, Japan firm to bid for Malolos-Tutuban rail

DMCI Holdings Inc. said Monday it teamed up with a Japanese group to bid for the first phase of the North-South Commuter Rail project.

DMCI Holdings president Isidro Consunji did not identify the Japanese joint venture partner because of a non-disclosure agreement.

Consunji earlier flew to Japan to finalize the joint venture partnership with the Japanese group.

The joint venture partners plan to bid for the 38-kilometer rail line connecting Malolos, Bulacan and Tutuban, Manila.

The first phase of the elevated railway is expected to reduce travel time from Malolos to Tutuban to 35 minutes from 2 hours and allow economic activities to spread out to the surrounding areas of Metro Manila.

The NSCR project will be partially funded by Japan’s official development assistance loan amounting to 241.991 billion yen signed in November 2015.

The project will use advanced Japanese technologies, including seismic designs to make the infrastructure disaster-resilient.

Meanwhile, DMCI Holdings said construction unit D.M. Consunji Inc. posted a net income of P676 million in the first half, up 36 percent from P479 million recorded in the same period last year.

This was brought about by a higher gross profit percentage of the business units due to the late approval of variation orders which were already accomplished in the previous period.

First-half revenues reached P7.2 billion, up 13 percent from P6.4 billion a year ago, as the company completed more projects this year.

DMCI expects better performance from the construction unit this year because of more ongoing projects and newly-awarded projects that will commence later this year.

The company said the building business saw a 48-percent increase in revenue in the first half, while the infrastructure business suffered a 9-percent dip in revenue because of the delays related to right-of-way issues.

DMCI said recent developments in the availability of right-of-way would help improve the company’s revenue in the second half.

It said the ongoing bids and negotiations for privately-funded projects and the government’s rollout of the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program would also help the company increase its order booking next year.

http://manilastandard.net/mobile/article/273488

NLEX’s profit increased 22% to P2.9b in H1

Toll road operator NLEX Corp. said net income grew by over a fifth in the first semester on higher vehicle traffic at the North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

The company said net profit from January to June reached P2.9 billion, up 22 percent from P2.3 billion in the same period last year.

NLEX attributed the growth in revenues in the six-month period to higher toll collection at NLEx and SCTEx and more efficient utilization of resources covering toll operations and maintenance costs.

Toll revenues reached P6.7 billion, up 15 percent year-on-year on the steady increase in traffic and toll revenue contribution from both NLEx and SCTEx operations and increase in non-toll revenues.

Non-toll revenues also climbed to P100 million from P83 million with the increase in royalty fees, utility facility fees and other non-toll initiatives.

Subsidiary NLEX Ventures Corp. contributed P14.8 million, mainly from the commercialization of roadway maintenance services.

NLEX spans 95 kilometers, or 527 lane-kms, and services an average of 254,791 vehicles a day.

NLEX Corp. said net income in 2017 rose 14 percent to P4.64 billion from P4.09 billion in 2016 on  robust vehicle traffic growth in the two toll roads.  Toll revenues reached P11.6 billion last year, up 10 percent from 10.5 billion in 2016.

NLEx vehicle traffic reached an average of 237,046 daily entries last year, or 8 percent higher than in 2016, while traffic at SCTEx reached 54,566 daily vehicle entries, up 21 percent.

NLEx contributed 84 percent of toll revenues, while SCTEx cornered 16 percent.

The company said aside from toll revenues, the company generated revenues of P174.4 million arising from advertising, toll services and utility facilities and rental and service income in 2017 from P157.4 million in 2016.

The North Luzon Expressway spans approximately 95 kilometers, or 527-lane kilometers, and serves an average of 237,046 a day. It is the main infrastructure backbone that connects Metro Manila to Central and Northern Luzon.

SCTEx, meanwhile, is a 94-km, 2x2 expressway stretching from Subic-Tipo to La Paz, Tarlac, connecting the special economic zones in Subic and Clark and Olongapo City, to Tarlac City.

The toll road company earlier budgeted P19 billion in capital expenditures this year to build new projects and help resolve Metro Manila’s traffic bottlenecks.

It is spending to build the urban portions of North Luzon Expressway, such as the Harbor Link Segment 10 (including the R10 Section in Dagat-Dagatan, Navotas City) and the NLEx-SLEx Connector Road project.

http://manilastandard.net/business/banking-report/273401/nlex-s-profit-increased-22-to-p2-9b-in-h1.html

The NLEX Harbor Link could finally be completed by end of 2018

During their latest site inspection of the NLEX Harbor Link project, the NLEX Corporation and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said that they expect Harbor Link's Segment 10, the final phase being constructed, to be completed by the end of 2018—two years beyond the original target date.

Delays in right-of-way acquisition have pushed back the completion of the project, but the DPWH has now delivered 95% of total right-of-way requirements, with only 4% and 14% of acquisitions pending in Valenzuela City and Caloocan City, respectively. "We are committed to deliver the remaining right-of-way so we can finish this important infrastructure that will decongest traffic in Manila as soon as possible," said DPWH Secretary Mark Villar.

The NLEX Harbor Link elevated expressway comprises Segment 9, a 2.42km sector from the SMART Connect Interchange to MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela City; Segment 10, a 5.45km stretch from MacArthur Highway to C3 Road in Caloocan City; and the R10 extension, a 2.5km section that terminates in Navotas City. The total cost for all three segments is roughly P20 billion.

The Segment 9 tollway was opened to traffic in March 2015. Once completed, the NLEX Harbor Link is expected to reduce the current travel time from Navotas City to Valenzuela City by half, to just 11 minutes. With the capacity to accommodate some 30,000 cargo trucks on a daily basis, it should likewise lessen traffic congestion on city roads by offering an alternative route to and from NLEX.

The NLEX Corporation also announced earlier this month that its target start date for the construction of the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road has been moved from May 2019 to January 2019, crediting the DPWH’s "faster and efficient right-of-way acquisition and delivery" for the earlier schedule.

Spanning 8km, the four-lane Connector Road is an elevated expressway from Segment 10 of the NLEX Harbor Link in Caloocan City to PUP in Santa Mesa, Manila. Its first section will connect C3 Road to España Boulevard. The project, with an estimated cost of P23 billion, is slated for completion by December 2020 instead of the original May 2021 target.

Do you think these projects will be completed on schedule?

https://www.topgear.com.ph/news/motoring-news/nlex-harbor-link-completed-2018-a23-20180818?utm_source=Facebook-TopGear&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20180818-fbnp-news-nlex-harbor-link-completed-2018-a23-20180818-fbfirst

NLEX’s profit increased 22% to P2.9b in H1

Toll road operator NLEX Corp. said net income grew by over a fifth in the first semester on higher vehicle traffic at the North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

The company said net profit from January to June reached P2.9 billion, up 22 percent from P2.3 billion in the same period last year.

NLEX attributed the growth in revenues in the six-month period to higher toll collection at NLEx and SCTEx and more efficient utilization of resources covering toll operations and maintenance costs.

Toll revenues reached P6.7 billion, up 15 percent year-on-year on the steady increase in traffic and toll revenue contribution from both NLEx and SCTEx operations and increase in non-toll revenues.

Non-toll revenues also climbed to P100 million from P83 million with the increase in royalty fees, utility facility fees and other non-toll initiatives.

Subsidiary NLEX Ventures Corp. contributed P14.8 million, mainly from the commercialization of roadway maintenance services.

NLEX spans 95 kilometers, or 527 lane-kms, and services an average of 254,791 vehicles a day.

NLEX Corp. said net income in 2017 rose 14 percent to P4.64 billion from P4.09 billion in 2016 on  robust vehicle traffic growth in the two toll roads.  Toll revenues reached P11.6 billion last year, up 10 percent from 10.5 billion in 2016.

NLEx vehicle traffic reached an average of 237,046 daily entries last year, or 8 percent higher than in 2016, while traffic at SCTEx reached 54,566 daily vehicle entries, up 21 percent.

NLEx contributed 84 percent of toll revenues, while SCTEx cornered 16 percent.

The company said aside from toll revenues, the company generated revenues of P174.4 million arising from advertising, toll services and utility facilities and rental and service income in 2017 from P157.4 million in 2016.

The North Luzon Expressway spans approximately 95 kilometers, or 527-lane kilometers, and serves an average of 237,046 a day. It is the main infrastructure backbone that connects Metro Manila to Central and Northern Luzon.
SCTEx, meanwhile, is a 94-km, 2x2 expressway stretching from Subic-Tipo to La Paz, Tarlac, connecting the special economic zones in Subic and Clark and Olongapo City, to Tarlac City.

The toll road company earlier budgeted P19 billion in capital expenditures this year to build new projects and help resolve Metro Manila’s traffic bottlenecks.

It is spending to build the urban portions of North Luzon Expressway, such as the Harbor Link Segment 10 (including the R10 Section in Dagat-Dagatan, Navotas City) and the NLEx-SLEx Connector Road project.

http://www.manilastandard.net/business/banking-report/273401/nlex-s-profit-increased-22-to-p2-9b-in-h1.html

Electric-coops agree to support NBN project

The Department of Information and Communications Technology and electric cooperatives under the supervision of the National Electrification Administration signed a memorandum for the “last mile” of the government’s National Broadband Plan project to improve the internet access in the country.

The memorandum of agreement aims to ensure that the widespread availability of high-speed and affordable broadband in remote and rural areas of the country would soon be a reality through the electric cooperatives.

DICT, NEA and the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. formalized the tripartite collaboration “to realize the objectives of the NBP, including but not limited to the co-use of fiber optic cables.”

NEA administrator Edgardo Masongsong and Philreca president Presley De Jesus signed the agreement.  DICT regional director Erlito Tancontian witnessed the signing.

http://www.manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/273388/electric-coops-agree-to-support-nbn-project.html

Rehabilitation of the MRT-3 to Begin This Year

(SPOT.ph) Around 250,000 commuters use the MRT on a daily basis. But with all the breakdowns, accidents, and too-ridiculous-to-be-true incidents, it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing. On August 17, the Department of Transportation finally announced that the transit system is scheduled to undergo full rehabilitation. The National Economic and Development Authority has approved the use of official development assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The MRT's repairs will begin in the third quarter of 2018, with scheduled completion in the first quarter of 2021.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will be funding the MRT's rehabilitation with a loan of JPY 38.1 billion (P22 billion), with a repayment period of 28 years. The MRT will be undergoing comprehensive repair works covering the trains, rail tracks, power supply system, CCTV system, station elevators and escalators, and more. According to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the planned rehabilitation will increase the number of available trains from 15 to 18 per hour and improve the train's speed to 60 kilometers per hour.

The MRT's full rehabilitation is expected to take 43 months—31 months of which will be allotted for the repairs and maintenance work, and 12 months for the defect liability period.

https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/the-latest-news-features/74834/mrt-full-rehabilitation-a00258-20180820

P175-B ‘total transformation’ of PNR Manila-Legazpi to start 2019

LEGAZPI CITY -- The construction for the “total transformation” of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) service from Manila to Legazpi is scheduled to start next year, a PNR top official has said.

PNR General Manager Junn Magno, in an interview on Thursday in Manila, said the project is not just a rehabilitation nor modernization but transformation with PHP 175.32-billion budget.

"The transformation program is under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of the Duterte's administration and is expected to finish within span of seven years, nowadays the government is under the process of hiring consultants for the project called ‘South Long haul’," Magno said.

He said many informal settlers will be affected by the project because not one but two PNR tracks would be constructed to allow the two-way route from Manila to Legazpi and vice versa.

The problem of relocating hundreds of informal settlers lies in the hand of the National Housing Authority especially in the Bicol Area.

"All the old railway and travesa will be totally removed and replaced with new one to match with the new PNR coaches. The new PNR coaches will run at the speed of 120 km per hour and the travel time from Legazpi City to Manila will be only six hours." he added.

Under the project, the PNR railway will be secured by fence just like the MRT.

For the intersections and highway crossings, the railway will be elevated like the skyway. (PNA)

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1045256

Economic managers approve MRT-3 rehabilitation

The country's economic managers have given the go signal to start the rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3.

Socioeconomic planning secretary Ernesto Pernia said this project is expected to double the number of operational trains by 2022 and make MRT-3 a quality infrastructure.

Motorcycle-rider killed in TPLEx shootout

By Mar Supnad

CAMP BGEN OSCAR M FLORENDO, La Union– An 18-year-old man was killed when he allegedly shot it out with policemen along the Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEx) access road in the vicinity of Brgy. Acop, Rosales, Pangasinan Friday.

Police Chief Inspector Jason L. Corpuz, the Chief of Police of Rosales Police Station said the motorcycle-rider victim Joshua Laxamana of Brgy. San Vicente, Tarlac City was cruising along Balungao, Pangasinan when he ignored a police checkpoint in Brgy. Poblacion. This prompted police officers to chase Laxamana who reportedly sped towards the direction of Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija.

However, upon reaching the TPLEX access road, Laxamana reportedly lost control and fell off his bike.

Laxamana reportedly fired shots against the pursuing policemen resulting in a shootout that resulted in Laxamana’s death.

The SOCO Team from PNP Crime Laboratory Office Urdaneta City recovered from the crime scene a Colt Cal .45 pistol with two live ammunitions, spent shells of a Cal .45 and 9mm pistol, a heat sealed transparent plastic sachet suspected to contain “shabu”, a grey motorcycle with no plate number and a backpack containing personal belongings of Laxamana.

The police claimed Laxamana was involved in four robbery cases in Pangasinan.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/17/motorcycle-rider-killed-in-tplex-shootout/

NEDA-ICC approves P22-billion MRT-3 rehab project

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board’s Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom) has approved the planned P22-billion rehabilitation of the MRT-3.

In a statement, the NEDA said that the ICC-CabCom gave its greenlight to the project for MRT-3 aiming to restore the 18-year-old rail system that connects the north and south ends of Metro Manila.

The project, executed by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), is part of the agency’s strategy for restoring, upgrading, and regularly maintaining the MRT 3 over the long term.

The rehabilitation will increase the number of trainsets in operation from 15 to 18 trainsets per hour, increase the maximum speed to 60 kilometers per hour, and decrease headway to 200 seconds.

“With the upcoming rehabilitation of the MRT-3, we expect improvements in service efficiency and security of the existing train line,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.

“Over the long term, we envision the MRT to be a very convenient and efficient mode of transportation that will encourage car owners to shift to public transportation, thereby reducing traffic congestion in Metro Manila,” he added.

The MRT 3 rehabilitation project will have a total cost of P22.06 billion and will be funded through a loan from the government of Japan.

It is set to start implementation in the third quarter of 2018 and be completed in the first quarter of 2021.

Meanwhile, the ICC-CabCom also approved the request of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) to cancel the EURO28.52 million French Treasury loan for the Integrated Marine Environment Monitoring System-Phase 2 (PHILO II), to enable DA-BFAR to implement the project using local funds.

Among others, PHILO II aims to integrate various databases including fishing vessel registry, ocean and weather data, stock assessment data, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing records.

Thursday’s cabinet-level ICC meeting was held at the Department of Finance.

It was co-chaired by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Pernia.

https://business.mb.com.ph/2018/08/18/neda-icc-approves-p22-billion-mrt-3-rehab-project/

Neda approves P22-b rehabilitation of MRT Line 3

THE National Economic and Development Authority Board Investment Coordination Committee approved Thursday the P22.061-billion rehabilitation project of MRT Line 3 that will restore the 18-year-old rail system connecting the north and south sections of Metro Manila.

Neda said in a statement Friday the rehabilitation would increase the number of train sets in operation from 15 to 18 per hour, increase the maximum speed to 60 kilometers per hour and decrease headway to 200 seconds.

The project, executed by the Department of Transportation, is part of the agency’s strategy for restoring, upgrading and regularly maintaining the MRT 3 over the long term.

“With the upcoming rehabilitation of the MRT 3, we expect improvements in service efficiency and security of the existing train line,” Economic Planning Secretary and Neda director-general Ernesto Pernia said.

“Over the long term, we envision the MRT to be a very convenient and efficient mode of transportation that will encourage car owners to shift to public transportation, thereby reducing traffic congestion in Metro Manila,” Pernia said.

The MRT 3 Rehabilitation Project will have a total cost of P22.061 billion and will  be funded through a loan from the government of Japan. Work is set to start in the third quarter of 2018 and be completed in the first quarter of 2021.

Meanwhile, the ICC-CabCom approved the request of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to cancel the 28.52 million euro French Treasury loan for the Integrated Marine Environment Monitoring System-Phase 2 to enable DA-BFAR to implement the project using local funds.

The project aims to integrate various databases, including fishing vessel registry, ocean and weather data, stock assessment data and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing records.

http://manilastandard.net/business/biz-plus/273292/neda-approves-p22-b-rehabilitation-of-mrt-line-3.html

Full rehabilitation of MRT-3 seen in 2-3 years

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is looking to fully rehabilitate the MRT-3 in two to three years as it looks to secure and finalize not later than September a deal to bring back former maintenance provider Sumitomo Corp.

“There have been long discussion as to who will maintain. What will happen is Sumitomo will come in. Sumitomo handled MRT-3 for 12 years. After 12 years, there came a moment in time when there were four or five that handled it in a short period. That caused the problem. That added to the problem,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said an interview with One News’ The Chiefs Thursday night.

“So now we will bring back Sumitomo. It will not be easy, convincing them to return because there will be issues on that. But having said that, because of the efforts of the Philippine government and the Japanese government, there was an agreement made for Sumitomo to come back,” he said.

Tugade said the target is to finalize the deal with Sumitomo and the Japanese government within this month or the middle of September at the latest.

He said works on the documents for the deal are now being made.

“Once that is done, we will repair the entire MRT-3, from coaches to rails, because even the rails have been neglected. We are targeting 32 to 34 months  to fix those,” Tugade said.

According to the DOTr, the objective is to rehabilitate all trains as soon as possible to restore MRT-3’s reliability and increase its capacity.

Based on initial discussion, the agency said the number of operating Czech trains can go down to as low as 12 sets at the peak of the rehabilitation program.

As designed, the 72 Czech trains are supposed to undergo general overhaul every eight years.

MRT-3 started operating in 2000 and the first round of general overhaul was completed by Sumitomo in 2008.

The second round of overhaul was supposed to have been completed in 2016, but with the termination of Busan Universal Rail Inc. in November 2017, only three of the 43 trains that was covered by its contract were overhauled.

Meanwhile, Tugade said works are continuing by a fact-finding team regarding the acquisition of trains by the previous administration from Chinese company CRRC Dalian Co. Ltd.

Last month, Tugade met with executives of CRRC Dalian to discuss results of the independent audit and assessment for MRT-3 and the 48 light rail vehicles (LRVs) conducted by TUV Rheinland.

Tugade said based on the independent audit, the Dalian trains can still be used if the adjustments identified in the audit are addressed.

Concerns were earlier raised with the 48 LRVs procured by the previous administration for P3.8 billion after they exceeded the weight prescribed in the terms of reference (49,700 kilograms vs. 46,300 kilograms).

The DOTr has said that details on how CRRC Dalian would make the adjustments identified in the audit is targeted to be finalized before a high-level government to government meeting between the Philippines and China in August 20.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/08/18/1843478/full-rehabilitation-mrt-3-seen-2-3-years

NEDA body endorsing MRT-3 rehab deal to Duterte for approval

USERS of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) can expect relatively trouble-free commuting along this railway by 2021, under the timetable of a rehabilitation project that edged closer to final approval late this week.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said in a press statement on Friday that its Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee approved on Thursday the P22.061-billion project — financed by a loan from Japan and to be implemented by the Department of Transportation — that will restore, upgrade and assure regular maintenance of the 18-year-old railway that connects the north and south ends of Metro Manila.

TIMETABLE

“It is set to start implementation in the third quarter of 2018 and be completed in the first quarter of 2021,” the statement read.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said in an interview in The Chiefs aired Thursday on Cignal TV’s One News channel that he expects the deal to be signed with Sumitomo Corp. “by the end of August; if not… mid-September.”

“Dokumento na lang po ang ginagawa (The contract is being finalized),” Mr. Tugade said, adding that MRT 3’s rehabilitation can be completed in “32-34 months.”

“The whole of MRT will be repaired — from coaches to the rails,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English, while NEDA’s statement said the project will increase number of train sets in operation to 18 from 15 per hour and enable them to reach a maximum speed to 60 kilometers per hour, among other performance criteria.

The project will now be taken up for approval by the NEDA Board, which is chaired by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

The same statement quoted Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, who heads NEDA as director general, as describing the project as a key solution to Metro Manila’s worsening traffic. “With the upcoming rehabilitation of the MRT 3, we expect improvements in service efficiency and security of the existing train line,” Mr. Pernia said. “Over the long term, we envision the MRT to be a very convenient and efficient mode of transportation that will encourage car owners to shift to public transportation, thereby reducing traffic congestion in Metro Manila.”

In Thursday’s meeting, the ICC Cabinet Committee also approved the request of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to cancel the €28.52-million loan from France in favor of using local funds for the Integrated Marine Environment Monitoring System-Phase 2 (PHILO II). PHILO II aims to integrate databases including fishing vessel registry, ocean and weather data, stock assessment data, as well as records on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan and Charmaine A. Tadalan

http://www.bworldonline.com/neda-body-endorsing-mrt-3-rehab-deal-to-duterte-for-approval/