COMMON STATION | DOTr signs contract with private firms to build unified terminal

The Department of Transportation, BF Corporation and Foresight Development Surveying Corporation have signed a contract for the construction of the Unified Grand Central Terminal for MRT 3, LRT1, MRT 7 and the Metro Manila Subway.

The project which is set to be finished by the last quarter of 2020 will be located on the center of North Avenue to help passengers reach their various destinations easier.

The station will serve passengers coming from Taft Avenue in Manila for MRT 3, San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan for MRT 7, Baclaran in Manila for LRT 1, and Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City for Metro Manila Subway.

The common station was initially planned in 2006 to be linked to the Sy-led The Annex at SM City North EDSA in North Avenue, but the Supreme Court suspended its construction in August 2014 after SM Prime Holdings contested the location near Ayala-led Trinoma Mall.

LOOK | Pumirma na ng kasunduan ang transport officials at stakeholders ng pribadong sektor para sa pagtatayo ng Grand Central Terminal.

Gagawin ito sa parking area ng Trinoma sa North Ave. at magiging common station ng LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7 at Manila Subway. | via @gerarddelapena pic.twitter.com/eNF47WZBBL

— News5 AKSYON (@News5AKSYON) February 13, 2019

Transportation spokesperson Cherrie Mercado explained then that SM acquired the naming rights to the station with a P200-million fee, but Trinoma later also paid 150 million for the same rights.

On September 28, 2016, both firms agreed to build the station between their malls on EDSA which was then followed by two failed biddings among contractors.

Now after over a decade, the transportation department, BF, and Foresight corporations are set to undertake the project but ask the public to be patient as they expect some inconveniences in completing the project.

“Ang challenges talaga natin dyan, traffic management ay number one. We have identified some obstructions, so yung coordination with different departments— the local governments, utilities—iyan yung pre-construction na dapat nating ma-address,” BF Corp. Engr. Lucenda Vergara said.

“Kung anuman ang gusto nating pagbabago na economic growth, meron kakambal at kaakibat na inconvenience iyan. Mamili po tayo: panandaliang hirap, temporary inconvenience, o pangmatagalang sagana,” Transportation Sec. Arthur Tugade added.

http://news.tv5.com.ph/breaking/common-station-dotr-signs-contract-with-private-firms-to-build-unified-terminal

Contracting arrangements finalized for common station

THE government signed on Wednesday an agreement with a contractor tasked to build the last component of the so-called Unified Grand Central Station — previously known as the common station for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines, with the station due to open in late 2020.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the consortium of BF Corp. and Foresight Development and Surveying Co. (BFC-FDSC) signed the P2.8-billion deal for Area A of the common station in North Avenue, Quezon City.

The common station will link four train lines: LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7, and eventually, the Metro Manila Subway. It will have three sections that are being built separately: Area A by BFC-FDSC, Area B by Ayala Corp. and Area C by San Miguel Corp., the concessionaire for the MRT-7 project.

DoTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John R. Batan said adding the subway to the train lines that are linked to the common station requires an expansion of the lot size of Area B, which will serve as the common concourse, from 7,000 square meters (sq.m.) to 14,000 sq. m.

“When we were planning for only three lines to connect with the common station, we estimated foot traffic at 500,000 in the opening year in 2020. (But the subway) means we need to accommodate 1.2 million passengers a day,” he said.

On the subway, Mr. Batan said department officials are scheduled to go to Japan next week to meet with the Japanese government to discuss the groundbreaking, originally scheduled for mid-January but moved due to “scheduling issues.”

“We’re coordinating with the Japanese on the scheduling. (But) they have started working on the design,” he said.

At the same event, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade announced that the department will groundbreak the Tutuban-Malolos portion of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) on Friday.

“On Friday, we will be inaugurating… the Tutuban-Malolos portion of the Tutuban-Clark Railway. This is again one project that has been long delayed,” he said.

Mr. Tugade said the department has arranged for Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co., Ltd. to build the train line, which will run 38 kilometers from Manila to Bulacan with 10 stops.

Mr. Batan said the NSCR project costs P777.55 billion, covering the 56 kilometers from Calamba to Tutuban, 38 kilometers from Tutuban to Malolos and 53 kilometers from Malolos to Clark. — Denise A. Valdez

https://www.bworldonline.com/contracting-arrangements-finalized-for-common-station/

DOTr inks deal on common station construction

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Wednesday signed a contract with a private consortium for the construction of Area A of the Unified Grand Central Station (UGCS) or the common station which is located between SM North Edsa and Trinoma in Quezon City.

The DOTr signed the contract with BF Corporation and Foresight Development and Surveying Company (FDSC) Consortium which will be in charge of the construction of Area A of the common station.

“The common station aims to ensure an integrated, interoperable, and intermodal system that will ensure comfort and convenience for our commuters,” DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said in an interview with reporters at the sidelines of the contract signing at the construction site of the common station in Quezon City.

The common station aims to connect the major railway systems in Metro Manila-- the Light Rail Transit Line (LRT-1), Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) and the Metro Manila Subway which will enable passengers to seamlessly transfer from one rail line to another.

The common station which will have a 13,000 square meter concourse will consist of three components which will connect LRT-1, MRT-3 and MRT-7.

Area A, estimated to cost around PHP2.7 billion will cover the platforms for LRT-1 and MRT-3 to be handled by the DOTr.

BF Corporation-FDSC Consortium has committed to complete the construction of Area A by October next year.

“As per contract, this project shall be completed in 20 months. By Valentine’s next year, we should be completing physically the project maybe 60 percent or more in physical progress. Our completion is by October 2020,” BF Corporation general manager Lucenda Vergara said.

Area B, which will connect Areas A and B, will be built by North Triangle Depot Commercial Corporation (NTDCC), an affiliate of Ayala Land while Area C which covers the platform for MRT-7 is still being constructed by the San Miguel Corporation.

The Ayala Land has committed to finish the construction of Area B by next year, according to the DOTr.

Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan Jr. said the department is eyeing the operations of the common station to start by the end of 2020.

“As much as possible we want them to be open at the same time by the end of 2020,” Batan said.

The common station is expected to serve around 500,000 passengers daily upon its completion.

It is a joint project of the DOTr, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Universal LRT Corporation Limited of the San Miguel Corporation, Light Rail Manila Corporation, North Triangle Depot Commercial Corporation, Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Light Rail Transit Authority.

A memorandum of agreement was signed by the government, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, SMPH Director Hans T. Sy, Ayala Corp. chief executive officer Jaime Zobel de Ayala, and SMC president and CEO Ramon S. Ang on January 2017 which ended the eight-year impasse over its location. (With reports from Irish Cana, OJT/PNA)

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1061843

Contract signed for EDSA side of MRT-LRT common station

Common Area A, which will link the LRT1 and the MRT3, will be operational by October 2020, says the private builder

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Wednesday, February 13, inked an agreement with a private builder for the construction of the Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit (MRT-LRT) common station's Area A facing EDSA.

Dubbed the Unified Grand Central Station, the 13,700-square-meter common station will have 3 areas linking LRT Line 1, MRT Lines 3 and 7, and the planned Metro Manila Subway.

Present at the signing on Wednesday were Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Railways Undersecretary Timothy John Batan, and Lucila Gomez of the BF Corporation-Foresight Development and Surveying Company (FDSC) Consortium.

BF Corporation-FDSC Consortium will be building Area A, where the platform and the concourse for the LRT1 and MRT3 will be located. Batan said the contract amounts to about P2.8 billion.

Gomez said they target to complete Area A within 20 months or by October 2020.

Transfer from Area A to Area B will take roughly 35 seconds for the 48-meter distance, Batan said.

When will the Unified Grand Central Station be operational? Batan told reporters that they are eyeing full operations for the common station by the end of 2020.

"As much as possible, we want them to open end of 2020," he said.

Area B, which will connect Areas A and C, will be built by North Triangle Depot Commercial Corporation, an affiliate of Ayala Land. Area C will cover the platform for the MRT7, which is still being constructed.

But Batan explained that due to legal issues stalling the construction of the MRT7 depot, structures for Area C "maybe there" but there are no guarantees that it would be operational by the end of 2020. The DOTr is eyeing 2022 at the latest.

"All the 23 kilometers of MRT7 can be completed, but without the depot, it can't operate. All the [train] cars are still in Korea," Batan told reporters.

Meanwhile, Tugade said on Wednesday that Ayala Land "committed" to finishing Area B next year as well.

In 2017, the construction of the common station's Area B had begun, after being delayed for 10 years.

The legal battle stemmed from the location of the station, which is sure to generate plenty of foot traffic. An agreement was reached in 2016 to place the common station between SM North EDSA and Ayala's TriNoma.

The common station, expected to serve around 500,000 passengers daily, will provide commuters seamless transfer from one railway line to another.

https://www.rappler.com/business/223403-dotr-bf-corporation-sign-contract-edsa-side-mrt-lrt-common-station-february-2019