BC Updates

There's a new hotel opening soon in downtown BC on top of the Novo Department Store>>Its called Meaco Royal Hotel. It has many branches already including one in Lipa. Similarly, a few small hotels are sprouting in the bypass road near BatSU.


Meanwhile, the new 5F Toms Commercial Bldg is almost leased out at least the first 2 floors from my observation having BDO, Goldilocks, Banko, Julies Bakeshop, a Clothing store then Elorde Boxing Gym.


The former 4F Kabukiran Restaurant is undergoing renovation to be converter to Mixed used commercial building. The 3F commercial building beside Taza Mia Plaza is almost leased out as well. Notable tenants are Mr. Kimchi and a Fitness Gym as well.


In Pallocan Area, a new building for the Integrity Net is under construction in front of the Mercury Drug. A new commercial building is opened also in front of Hall of Justice. Notable tenants are Generika Drugstore and more of local shops. The commercial strip beside Casa Blanca have now additional tenants with San Mig Station, Nuat Thai and a Thai Restaurant.


Downtown BC is still catching up with the developments in its suburbs. While Diversion and Pallocan are high growth areas, Downtown is still BC's most important CBD for now.

'Fast and sure': Metro Manila Subway groundbreaking set in Q4

The government can break ground for the capital’s first ever subway in the fourth quarter of this year, illustrating how President Rodrigo Duterte is moving "fast and sure" on his infrastructure program, one of his economic managers said Tuesday.

The Metro Manila Subway, which is partly-funded by Japan, will be partially operational in 2.5 to 3 years, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade told an economic briefing in Tokyo.

"Before, sir, it's 'talk, talk, talk' and 'plan, plan, plan.' Now, it's 'build, build, build,'" Tugade said in the forum, which was aired on the budget department's Facebook page.

The government "advanced" the schedule of infrastructure by as much as 6 months, Tugade said. Up to 1,900 kilometers of rail will be constructed under the President's term, including one in Mindanao, he said.

The Philippines in March signed a P51.3-billion loan agreement with Japan for the Mega Manila Subway, which will connect Quezon City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the FTI Terminal in Taguig City.

It is one of the flagship projects under the President's P8 trillion list, which also includes airports and roads.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno told the same briefing that the government had "licked the problem of underspending," which held back infrastructure development in the past.

From January to April, government spending rose 29.4 percent, compared to the same period in 2017. Infrastructure spending alone rose 47.5 percent, Diokno said.

Actual spending of P782 billion in the first quarter exceeded the programmed P755.9 billion, a first in the country's history, he said.

30 infra projects to start this year

Thirty flagship infrastructure projects worth a total of P1.04 trillion under the ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program will start implementation this year and are seen creating up to 820,000 jobs, the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority said.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said that “to fully maximize gains from ‘Build, Build, Build,’ the Philippine labor market should be ready to meet the infrastructure program’s requirements.”

As of June 13, 30 of the 75 projects under the “Build, Build, Build” were targeted to begin implementation this year.

Expected to be rolled out in 2018 are the P14.1-billion upgrading/rehabilitation of the Navotas Fish Port Complex); P44.6-billion North Luzon Expressway East; P4.7-billion Pasacao-Balatan Tourism Coastal Highway; P2.3-billion Camarines Sur Expressway Project (San Fernando-Pili Section); P56.6-billion Cebu-Bohol Link Bridge; P10-billion Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao; P25.6-billion Davao City Expressway Project; P4.8-billion East Dalton Bypass Project; P4-billion Quezon-Bicol Expressway; and P22.7-billion Ilocos Norte Irrigation Project, Stage 2.

Also for implementation this year are the P9.9-billion New Cebu International Container Port; P9.4-billion Clark International Airport Expansion Project; the Nationwide Fish Ports Project (Package 3); P124.1-bilion Philippine National Railways South Commuter Line (Tutuban-Los Baños); P175.3-billion PNR South Long-Haul (Manila-Bicol); P356.9-billion Metro Manila Subway Project-Phase 1; P2.3-billion New Bohol Airport; P35.3-billion Mindanao Rail Project (Phase 1); P4.6-billion Binondo-Intramuros Bridge; and P1.4-billion Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge.

Likewise to be implemented in 2018 are the P4.9-billion Panguil Bay Bridge Project; P12.2-billion Kaliwa Dam Project; P19.4-billion Panay River Basin Integrated Development Project; P1.8-billion Clark Green City Government Center; P850-million Clark Green City Government Center; P3.3-billion Clark Green City Mixed-Income Housing; P4.4-billion Chico River Irrigation Project; P46-billion Metro Manila BRT-Phase 3 (BGC-Naia Segment); P4.8-billion Metro Manila BRT-Line 1 (Quezon Avenue), and P37.8-billion Metro Manila BRT-Line 2.

Construction of LRT Cavite extension to start in October

Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) operator Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) said it is on track to begin the construction of the first package of the Cavite extension by October.

In an interview with reporters, LRMC Operations Director Rodrigo P. Bulario said, “The first package, konti na lang ang natitira [very little is left]. So we can start on October Kasi binigay na yung right of way nila eh [Because the right of way has already been given].”

He said less than five percent of the right of way for the first package needs to be obtained.

As part of its concession agreement with the Department of Transportation (DoTr), LRMC is set to extend the LRT-1 Baclaran station to Cavite. Eight stations are set to be built, but the construction is divided into three phases, the first covering five stations from Redemptorist to Dr. Santos in Sucat. — Denise A. Valdez

Work on LRT-1 Cavite extension to start in Oct.

LIGHT RAIL Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) operator Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) said it expects to begin the construction of the first phase of the Cavite extension project by October.

“The first package, konti na lang ang natitira [very little is left]. So we can start on October. Kasi binigay na yung right of way nila eh [Because the right of way has already been given],” LRMC Operations Director Rodrigo P. Bulario told reporters on Monday.

Mr. Bulario said less than 5% of the right of way for the first phase needs to be obtained.

As part of its concession agreement with the Department of Transportation (DoTr), LRMC will extend LRT-1 from Baclaran station to Niog, Bacoor City, Cavite. Eight stations will be built as part of the extension: Redemptorist, NAIA Avenue, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote and Niog.

The construction of the 11.7-kilometer railway is divided into three packages, the first one covering the first five stations from Redemptorist to Dr. Santos in Sucat.

LRMC President and Chief Executive Officer Juan F. Alfonso told reporters in May that the construction of the Cavite extension will take four years.

HACKATREN

At the same time, LRMC launched a crowdsourcing program to encourage information technology (IT) specialists to propose ways to improve the customer experience at the LRT-1.

In a press conference in Taguig, LRMC head of Information Management and Technology Randy S. Sac bared the details of the hacking marathon called “Hackatren,” organized in partnership with the Hub of Innovation for Inclusion (HiFi) of the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde (DLS-CSB).

IT students and professionals are invited to form teams of three to four members, who will pitch a digital solution to make the commuting experience of passengers “more enjoyable and efficient.”

Mr. Sac said LRMC will work with the top three winners to put their proposals into reality, with the help of HiFi.

Aside from this, the three winning teams will also win a cash prize of P100,000, P50,000 and P25,000 each.

Mr. Sac noted the goal of the initiative is to find out what passengers experience during their commute and find solutions that they may adopt to improve the train system.

Interested participants may sign up for the competition until June 30, which is also the “Pre-Hack Day” of Hackatren. The top 15 teams will be invited to the actual Hackatren event on July 14 and 15, on which the winners will also be announced.

LRMC is the consortium of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd.

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. — Denise A. Valdez

LRT-1 extension project construction to start in October

The construction of the first phase of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) extension project is set to start in October this year.

The settlement for the right of way for the railway extension project is now 95 percent completed, according to private operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC).

“Konti na lang ang natitira so actually we can start by October kasi binigay na yung right of way eh," LRMC Operations Director Rodrigo Bulario said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the launching of the Hackatren event Monday in Taguig City.

(There are only a few things that are needed to be settled so actually we can start by October because the right of way was already given.)

"Continuous na yun, parang mobilization is October then continuous na yun until construction," he added.

(This is now continuous, the mobilization is October that will be continuous until construction.)

The first phase of the LRT-1 extension project covers the Redemptorist, Manila International Airport (MIA), Asiaworld, Ninoy Aquino, and Dr. A. Santos stations.

The LRMC expects the LRT-1 Cavite extension project to reduce travel time from Baclaran to Bacoor by 30 minutes from the current one and a half hours during rush hours.

The Cavite extension, measuring 11.7 kilometers in length, will consist of elevated guideways throughout the majority of the alignment.

The only at-grade guideway section shall be located in Zapote, consisting of the Satellite Depot and New Station. It will connect to the existing Baclaran station and will have eight new stations: Redemptorist, NAIA Avenue, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Pinas, Zapote, and Niog.

Dr. Santos, Zapote, and Niog stations will provide transfers to other modes of transportation.

The railway operator projects LRT-1 to serve around 700,000 to 800,000 passengers daily once the extension is completed by 2021. (PNA)

Contractor Vows Oct 2018 Start for Prep Works on LRT-1 Project That Will Cut Bacoor-Baclaran Travel to 30 Minutes

The private-sector consortium carrying out the project to extend the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) to Cavite province south of Metro Manila has vowed to start pre-construction preparations by October 2018. It hopes to begin on-site construction works by early next year.

Rodrigo Bulario, operations director of Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), said company’s subcontractors would start mobilizing in four months, according to a report in Inquirer.net on Monday, June 18.

The LRMC is a consortium of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings. The consortium won the bidding to undertake the public-private partnership (PPP) project at the cost of Php65 billion. LRT-1 is the country’s oldest elevated train system.

Officials of the company earlier announced that construction works would commence later this year after most of the segments of the right of way (ROW) needed by the project have been turned over by the government to LRMC.

“Actually we can start [construction preparation] by October kasi binigay na ‘yung right of way ng iba eh (because the right of way for other [segments needed by the project] have already been turned over,” Bulario was quoted by Inquirer.net as saying. “Mobilization is October then continuous na ‘yun until construction.”

In government infrastructure projects, ROW means the piece of property used or required for the project to start. The process of acquiring ROW is done before the mobilization phase, the time when the resources, manpower and plans needed before the actual construction are finalized.

The project, which is expected to be completed by 2021, is awaited by hundreds of thousands of people who commute daily from their homes in Cavite to factories, offices and schools in Metro Manila.

The Php64.9-billion project is expected to accommodate around 410,000 passengers every day in its opening year, with completion targeted at the last quarter of 2021.

LRMC President and CEO Juan Alfonso said the project may cut the travel time between Baclaran in Parañaque City to Bacoor in Cavite to only 30 minutes from the usual one and a half hour land travel during rush hour, according to report by GMA News Online.

“From Baclaran to Sucat, it will be only 15 minutes; Baclaran to Zapote, 20 minutes," Alfonso said, according to the report.

The latest announcement comes months after LRMC tapped French rail experts Bouygues Travaux Publics and Alstom Transport Private Ltd. to help in the construction of the LRT-1 extension project in February.

According to the Public-Private Partnership Center website, the LRT-1 Cavite extension involves the construction of an 11.7-kilometer railway, 10.5 km of which will be elevated. The existing Baclaran Station will be extended to Bacoor, Cavite with the last stop at Niyog Station.  A total of eight stations will be added for the extension project starting from the Aseana business district in Pasay City.

*****

Elyssa Christine Lopez is a staff writer of Entrepreneur.com.ph.

LRT-1 extension project construction to start in October

The construction of the first phase of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) extension project is set to start in October this year.

The settlement for the right of way for the railway extension project is now 95 percent completed, according to private operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC).

“Konti na lang ang natitira so actually we can start by October kasi binigay na yung right of way eh,” LRMC Operations Director Rodrigo Bulario said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the launching of the Hackatren event Monday in Taguig City.

(There are only a few things that are needed to be settled so actually we can start by October because the right of way was already given.)

“Continuous na yun, parang mobilization is October then continuous na yun until construction,” he added.

(This is now continuous, the mobilization is October that will be continuous until construction.)

The first phase of the LRT-1 extension project covers the Redemptorist, Manila International Airport (MIA), Asiaworld, Ninoy Aquino, and Dr. A. Santos stations.

The LRMC expects the LRT-1 Cavite extension project to reduce travel time from Baclaran to Bacoor by 30 minutes from the current one and a half hours during rush hours.

The Cavite extension, measuring 11.7 kilometers in length, will consist of elevated guideways throughout the majority of the alignment.

The only at-grade guideway section shall be located in Zapote, consisting of the Satellite Depot and New Station. It will connect to the existing Baclaran station and will have eight new stations: Redemptorist, NAIA Avenue, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Pinas, Zapote, and Niog.

Dr. Santos, Zapote, and Niog stations will provide transfers to other modes of transportation.

The railway operator projects LRT-1 to serve around 700,000 to 800,000 passengers daily once the extension is completed by 2021.

LRMC: Phase 1 of LRT 1 Cavite Extension only 95% complete

TRAIN operator Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) has yet to receive a single portion of the right-of-way (ROW) for the construction of the Cavite Extension of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1.

LRMC Operations Director Rodrigo P. Bulario said in a chance interview that the ROW acquisition for the first phase of the extension is only 95-percent complete.

This means the government cannot deliver the said easement to the company, as based on the concession agreement, the acquisition rate has to be 100 percent before delivery.

“The acquisition of the ROW for the first phase is less than 5-percent incomplete,” Bulario said.

All the stations located in Parañaque City—Redemptorist, MIA, Asiaworld, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos—compose the first phase of the Cavite Extension.

The company aims to start constructing the first phase of the extension by October, but with the rate of acquisition of easement, Bulario believes the company may start with the so-called mobilization.

“We will start mobilization in October, which means we will assemble machines and materials in the area,” he said.

Actual construction may start “early next year,” he noted.

The company broke ground for the 11.7-kilometer extension of the oldest overhead railway system in Asia in February 2017.

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 Niog, Bacoor City, 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 Bacoor City.

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.

LRMC, controlled by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp., has invested P7.5 billion in the railway system so far since it took over in 2015.