Thursday, August 23, 2018

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)