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/