Construction of LRT1 Cavite extension to start mid-2018

LRT1 operator Light Rail Manila Corporation also says there will be no fare hike surprises as the train system is upgraded and expanded

The Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1), Southeast Asia's 1st rail transport line, is finally set to start the construction of its extension from Baclaran to Cavite in the middle of 2018, after it tapped French rail experts Bouygues Travaux Publics and Alstom Transport Private Limited to help with the structure.

"We have signed an EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) contract with Bouygues. We are trying to do this as soon as possible. We can by the middle of this year," Juan Alfonso, president and chief executive officer of Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in Makati City on Thursday, February 1.

"It is more than just right of way but more of clearing the path. If we can do it quicker, then we will do it faster," Alfonso added.

LRMC took over the operations, maintenance, and extension of the LRT1 in September 2015, after bagging the P64.9-billion ($1.36-billion) LRT1 Cavite Extension deal. (READ & WATCH: Engineers racing to fix LRT1)

LRMC is a consortium of Ayala Corporation, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), and the Macquarie group.

The 11.7-kilometer Cavite extension will link with the existing system immediately south of the Baclaran Station, and run all the way to Niog, Bacoor City, Cavite.

Eight new stations will be provided with 3 intermodal facilities across Pasay City, Parañaque City, Las Piñas City, and Cavite.

The new stations are Aseana, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote, and Niog. The intermodal facilities will be located in Dr Santos, Zapote, and Niog.

The commercial speed of the Cavite extension trains will be 60 kilometers per hour (km/h).

Alfonso said the LRT1 Cavite extension is targeted for completion in about 4 years or in 2021.

No fare hike surprises

Alfonso added that his firm is in constant talks with the government on how to move forward with a pending fare hike, as stipulated in their concession agreement (CA).

Instead of a fare hike which would be a burden to commuters, the LRT1 operator had suggested that the government subsidize the company's nearly P300-million claim.

"Fare increase is in the provision of CA. When the agreement for LRT1 was signed between LRMC and government, it contained a schedule of fare increases to allow us to fund the transactions," Alfonso told reporters.

"We need to keep our covenance to our lenders. We are discussing this with the government, on the schedule. There is no surprise that is coming. All fare adjustments are coursed through the Department of Transportation (DOTr)," he added.

LRMC had said that the pending fare increase for the LRT1, which should have taken effect on August 1, 2016, would push fees "5% higher" than they were in January 2015.

In December 2014, the DOTC implemented fare hikes for the 3 major train lines in Metro Manila, including the LRT1, after several years of postponement.

Under Department Order No. 2014-014, the uniform distance-based fare scheme for all 3 train lines – or an P11 base fare plus P1 per kilometer – was adopted.

LRT1 operator says Cavite extension works to start mid-2018

Construction of the P64-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) extension from Baclaran in Parañaque City to Bacoor, Cavite is targeted to commence sometime in the middle of 2018, operator Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) said Thursday.

On May 4, 2017, LRMC and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) broke ground for the LRT1 Cavite extension project.

“Our guess right now? I think we want the actual construction to start by the middle of this year,” LRMC president and CEO Juan Alfonso told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in Makati City.

Clear the actual path for the construction and addressing right-of-way issues are taking more time, Alfonso noted. “We still have things that we’re trying to iron out in our right or way,” he said.

“It’s really clearing the path for actual construction, whether its residence or utility lines,” he added.

LRMC and French engineering, procurement, construction contractor Bouyges Travaux Publics are now about to enter the “detailed design phase” of the project.

LRT1 Cavite extension is a government and private sector initiative to extend the mass rail system’s reach by adding eight stations straddling 11 kilometers through cities of Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Bacoor.

The new stations are Aseana, Manila International Airport, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, and Dr. Santos in Parañaque City; Las Piñas and Zapote in Las Piñas City, and Niog in Bacoor City.

To be completed in the last quarter of 2021, the extension is expected to accommodate 410,000 passengers a day in its opening year. —VDS, GMA News

Japanese engineers start MRT3 system audit

A team of more than 50 railway experts and engineers from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will start on Thursday the due diligence and system audit of Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3).

The system audit is a vital step to determine all rehabilitation and restoration works needed on the MRT3 system, which will be done by a JICA-nominated rehabilitation and maintenance provider that will be mobilized in May, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said.

“We obviously need all the help we can get and we are very grateful that the Japanese Government answered our call for assistance to rehabilitate and restore the MRT-3 system,” said OIC Undersecretary for Railways TJ Batan.

The system audit by JICA is separate from the ongoing Independent Audit and Assessment by TUV Rheinland, an ISO 17020 and ISO 17065 certified and IFIA member certifier (International Federation of Inspection Agencies) for the entire MRT3 system, including the 48 train cars from CRRC Dalian.

The TUV Rheinland audit commenced on Jan. 3, 2018 and will run for three months.

The DOTr is now implementing a four-point strategy to rehabilitate and restore the MRT-3 system. This involves:

• promoting accountability
• ensuring continued service delivery
• contracting a qualified maintenance and rehabilitation service provider
• putting in place a long-term, single-point-of-responsibility, operator and maintenance provider

Additional trains may be expected this February since the first batch of spare parts that were ordered last December are scheduled to be delivered and installed this month, Batan noted.

The spare parts that were already ordered have a delivery lead time of 30 days to six months, he said.

“We created a Special Bids and Awards Committee for MRT3 to address the urgent need to restore its service, which requires the expedited procurement of spare parts, among others,” he said.  —VDS, GMA News

Homegrown developer taps CL’s potential

A number of real estate players have seen the vast potential Central Luzon -- now fast becoming an alternative destination for business and leisure --  has to offer as modernization and investment opportunities continue to overflow in the area.

Leading the change ishomegrown business and property mover,  Pampanga-based  AC Beautiful Islands (ACBI) Realty Development Corp.

ACBI, the real estate arm of the JENRA Group of Companies is now behind the first and largest central business district in the region.

Called The Infinity, the development is located at the gateway of Central Luzon and directly connected to the Northern Luzon Expressway (NLEX) via the Angeles exit.

Byron John  Siy, general manager of ACBI Realty and Development Corp., said The  Infinity will soon be comparable even with established central business districts  in the metro especially nd with all the upcoming infrastructures in the area.

Siy said The Infinity will kick off 2018 by welcoming its newest locators PTT and Skygold.

The Infinity is the flagship project of ACBI and it traverses the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat in Pampanga.

Masterplanned by Palafox Associates, The Infinity will be a 40-hectare development that will soon house business, commercial, residential and all other dynamic features that completes a community.

ACBI counts on Central Luzon’s myriad of offerings  -- from  a world-class airport, the world’s largest indoor arena, and an all-weather golf course – as well as as new support structures that are underway.

Clark International Airport for example is the Philippines’ gateway to the world from the Central and Northern Luzon provinces, that complements  Metro Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as the country’s main aviation center in the future.

Clark’s new terminals, the Diosdado Macapagal Terminal and Terminal 2 were expanded to cater low-cost carriers. In addition, two more terminals are expected to be completed and all will be fully operational by 2025. Upon completion, these four terminals will boost Clark’s passenger capacity to more than 110 million annually in contrast to NAIA’s four terminals that can handle an estimated number of 36 million passengers a year.

The airport is also being groomed to become one of the country’s first “aerotropolis” or a community that features a world-class airport and surrounded by business clusters and residential developments.

The construction of Metro Rail Transit Line’s newest railway – MRT-7 is already in progress. This improvement will make Bulacan just half an hour away from Metro Manila by 2020. The 22-kilometer railway system will have 14 stations from MRT-3 North Edsa to San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. The project will efficiently lessen congestion on major roads going north.

Apart from the new railway, several expressways will likewise link Central Luzon to Metro Manila and its surrounding regionsto ensure an easier and faster travel time. The proposed North Luzon East Expressway (NLEE), a 92.1 kilometer four-lane expressway will connect Commonwealth Avenue to Nueva Ecija.

Also undergoing construction is the 66.4 kilometer Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEx) that will link Tarlac City to San Jose, Nueva Ecija. On the other hand, the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) that links Hermosa, Bataan to Tarlac City; and the Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEx) that links Tarlac City to La Union are already operational.

“Given all the investment being poured by both the public and private sector to Central Luzon, we are positive that Central Luzon will finally gain the attention it deserves. All these improvements plus the world-class service and commerce and leisure opportunities that will soon be available at The Infinity will raise the bar of business excellence in the region, Siy said.