DOTr approval of LRT1 fare hike still hangs

Plans to increase fares for Line 1 of the Light Rail Transit (LRT 1) might not push through this August as the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has yet to conduct a public hearing on the matter.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade on Wednesday said his agency had yet to approve Light Rail Management Corp.’s (LRMC) petition for a P5 to P7 fare increase.

“[We] haven’t agreed to it yet (because there must be) a consultation first,” Tugade said in a press conference.

The LRMC filed a fare hike petition in March, citing the need to maintain the quality of its service and recoup some P8 billion in improvement costs incurred since 2014.

Under its concession agreement with the government, LRMC will run and maintain the existing LRT 1 and construct a P65-billion, 11.7-km extension from Baclaran, Parañaque City, to Niog, Bacoor City, Cavite province.

It also allows LRMC to request an automatic fare adjustment every two years. —Krixia Subingsubing

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Right-of-way issues plague NLEX-SLEX connector road, says contractor

Delays in resolving right-of-way problems have hindered Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. from starting the construction of a tollroad connecting the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).

The tollroads unit of conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. bagged the contract to build the P23-billion NLEX-SLEX connector road in September 2016, but no actual work has been started due to right-of-way issues.

On the part of government, right-of-way acquisitions are ongoing, MPTC president and CEO Francisco Franco said on Thursday.

“But it’s not yet within the delivery period of the government,” Franco told reporters in a press briefing in Makati City.

The Department of Public Works and Highway is targeting to deliver all right-of-way aspects of the project by May 2019.

Franco said the company cannot commence any construction because a “substantial” number of right-of-way issues must first be resolved.

Only 50 percent has been closed by the government in terms of right-of-way acquisitions.

“We’re projecting, hopefully by the end of the year, that there will be substantial right-of-way for us to start construction by the first quarter of next year,” Franco noted.

“What’s important for us is the continuity of the construction. We don’t want to have a stop-and-go construction scheme that will compound the project cost,” he said.

The NLEX-SLEX connector road is 8 kilometers, elevated, and with four lanes. The expressway extends the NLEX southward from the end of Segment 10 along C3 Road Caloocan City to PUP Sta. Mesa, Manila and connects to the Skyway Stage 3, mostly along the Philippine National Railways track.

The project includes two interchanges on C3 Road in Caloocan and on España Boulevard in Manila. —VDS, GMA News

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/662777/right-of-way-issues-plague-nlex-slex-connector-road-says-contractor/story/