Monday, March 8, 2021
P26-M Talayan town hall soon to rise in Maguindanao
By Edwin Fernandez
COTABATO CITY – The municipality of Talayan in Maguindanao will soon have a new town hall courtesy of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) government, officials said Monday.
Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, BARMM interior and local government minister, said a groundbreaking ceremony was held Sunday afternoon for the construction of a PHP25.7-million two-storey town hall in Barangay Poblacion.
“It was BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim himself who led the groundbreaking ceremony,” Sinarimbo said, adding that Ebrahim was accompanied by Mayor Ali Midtimbang to the event.
The project is funded by the BARMM Office of the Chief Minister and is being implemented by the region’s Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG).
Sinarimbo said the project aims to contribute to better governance in the local government units by providing them with a permanent and more accessible government center where people can access government services.
“The MILG is also set to build town halls for other LGUs in the region,” he said.
The BARMM comprises the cities of Marawi, Lamitan, and Cotabato; the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Basilan; and 63 villages in six towns of North Cotabato province.
The buildings, Sinarimbo noted, will symbolize the foundation of cooperation of the BARMM government and LGUs in the region.
“That hope is founded on our unwavering belief that the cooperation between the LGUs and the regional government would result in better services for our people,” he said.
Ebrahim said the BARMM government will continue to develop programs and projects, especially infrastructures, which will be implemented in every town across the region.
“We have already prepared a line-up for all projects of various offices, that is why we seek for extension of the transition period,” he said, referring to the change in the form of government from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to BARMM.
BARMM officials earlier requested Malacañang and Congress to extend the end of the transition period of the region from 2022 to 2025.
Maynila may 5 bagong electric buses
May bagong electric buses ang lungsod ng Maynila na pansamantalang libreng magagamit ng mga pasahero sa lungsod.
Bunga ng partnership ng lokal na pamahalaan ng Maynila at private company na Global Electric Transport (GET) ang mga e-bus.
Biyaheng Taft Avenue hanggang SM North EDSA ang inisyal na ruta ng 5 e-bus, na pinasinayaan nitong umaga ng Lunes.
Airconditioned, may CCTV, built-in acryllic barriers at fire extinguisher ang bawat isa sa 5 electric buses.
Kaya umano ng mga bus na magsakay ng hanggang 30 pasahero, kasama ang standing capacity, pero sa ngayo'y 14 lang muna ang isasakay bilang pag-iingat laban sa COVID-19.
Ayon sa GET, higit P4 milyon ang halaga ng bawat unit ng e-bus, na kailangang i-charge nang 30 minuto para makatakbo ng 100 kilometro.
Makatutulong din umano ang bus para mabawasan ang air pollution sa lungsod, mabigyan ng hanapbuhay ang mga kukuhaning driver, at mabawasan ang ingay na bunga ng mga pampublikong sasakyan.
Inaasahang hanggang Hunyo ay aabot na sa 50 units ng electric buses ang magagamit sa Maynila.
-- Ulat ni Lady Vicencio, ABS-CBN News
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/08/21/maynila-may-5-bagong-electric-buses
Completion of PNR Clark Phase 1, 2 on track
The completion of the first two segments of the massive North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project is on track, as Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade pushes to fast-track the construction of big-ticket railway infrastructure projects to meet their target start of operations.
“We have a lot of catching up to do with so little time left. Itong proyekto na ito, gusto ko, agad ‘yang mapakinabangan ng tao (I want the people to make use of the project soon). That’s why I have been pushing, and pressuring the railway sector really hard to fast-track the construction works in the best way possible,” Tugade said.
The NSCR’s first leg, the PNR Clark Phase 1, which runs from Tutuban, Manila to Malolos, Bulacan, has an overall progress rate of 43 percent and a construction phase rate of 11.78 percent as of Jan. 31, 2021. This was made possible with continuous construction works amid Covid-19 quarantine restrictions.
“Partially operable na po ito by the fourth quarter of 2021 and full operations in the second quarter of 2024,” Philippine National Railways General Manager Junn Magno said during the DOTr railway sector press briefing last month.
Magno added that the PNR Clark Phase 1 targets to slash travel time between Tutuban and Malolos from 1 hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes and increase railway capacity to 330,000 passengers per day.
Meanwhile, PNR Clark Phase 2, which will stretch from Malolos, Bulacan to Clark, Pampanga, has five civil works contract packages signed.
Magno said the project’s development is likewise moving notably, with an overall progress rate standing at 27.79 percent as of Jan. 31. In this segment, there are ongoing pre-construction works and site visits. PNR Clark Phase 2 will have its groundbreaking in 2021.
Once completed, travel time between Bulacan and Pampanga will be slashed from the current 1 hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes.
Magno said the PNR Clark Phase 2 features the country’s first airport express service. This means that travel time from Makati City going to Clark, Pampanga will only be around 55 minutes, compared to more than 2 hours of travel by car.
The 54-kilometer second segment of the NSCR will be partially operational by the second quarter of 2023, while the full operation is targeted by the third quarter of 2024. The segment aims to accommodate 150,000 passengers per day.
Magno said improvements are being done to increase the number of PNR stations, routes, and trains.
In 2017, the rail line serviced only four routes, 24 stations, and seven train sets. Now, the rail line operates in seven routes and 34 stations, with 11 train sets at the end of 2020.
“Itong mga bagong tren natin lalo na ‘yung mga bagong dineliver from Indonesia, ‘yung diesel hydraulic po natin ay babaybay po ‘yan sa baha (These new trains delivered from Indonesia, the diesel-hydraulic, will travel even through flooded areas). Hindi po titigil ang biyahe ng PNR lalo na kung magbaha ang Maynila. Ito lang po ‘yung paraan na maitatawid natin ang Maynila kahit po mataas ang tubig baha (It won't stop operations even when it is flooded in Manila. This is the only way we can pass through Manila even when floodwater rises),” Magno said.
The diesel hydraulic locomotives are part of the PNR’s re-fleeting strategy in 2018. The new trainsets will serve commuters on the railway’s Metro line (Tutuban, Malabon up to Los Baños, Laguna). With the additional DHL trains, the PNR Metro line targets to serve a total of 140,000 passengers daily, double its existing capacity.
DOTr triples capex for rail infra to P278B
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is tripling its capital expenditure for 11 big-ticket railway infrastructure from P90.756 billion this year to P278.3 billion in 2022, at the end of the Duterte administration, with 8 projects either completed or partially operational.
The railway projects set for completion or partial operations within the year until the end of the term of President Duterte include the P9.5 billion LRT-2 East (Masinag) Extension, the P22 billion MRT-3 Rehabilitation, the P3 billion Common Station, the P65 billion LRT-1 Cavite Extension, the P68.2 billion MRT-7, the P50 billion Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 1, key facilities of the P357 billion Metro Manila Subway Project, and the P82 billion Mindanao Rail Project, DOTr officials disclosed during a recent virtual briefing.
The ongoing construction of the PNR Clark Phase 1, from Tutuban in Manila to Malolos in Bulacan, has a 43 percent overall progress as of January 2021, according to General Manager Junn Magno.
Partial operations of key facilities are slated in the fourth quarter of 2021, and full operations by the second quarter of 2024.
The MRT-3’s full rehabilitation will be completed this December, according to MRT-3 Director for Operations Michael Capati.
Rail replacement works was completed in December 2020, months ahead of schedule.
The LRT-1 (Cavite) Extension Project Package 1 will be partially operational in the fourth quarter of this year, announced DOTr – Railways Sector Project Development Officer Anna Tayag.
The project will extend the existing LRT Line 1 system from Baclaran, Parañaque to Bacoor, Cavite.
The LRT-2 East (Masinag) Extension Project, from Marikina Station to Antipolo Station, will be inaugurated on April 26, 2021 and start partial operations the next day, confirmed LRTA Spokesperson Atty. Hernando Cabrera.
As of 31 January 2021, the project has a 96.29 percent overall progress rate.
The Mindanao Railway Project Phase 1, the Tagum-Davao-Digos Segment will be partially operable in March 2022, according to DOTr Assistant Secretary for Project Implementation – Mindanao Cluster Eymard Eje.
MRT-7 will be partially operational in December 2021 and fully operational in December 2022, says DOTr Undersecretary for Railways TJ Batan.
On the other hand, tunnel boring for the Metro Manila Subway Project, the first-ever subway in the country, will start in the third quarter of 2021, he added.
The annual direct economic cost of congestion in Metro Manila stands at P1.277 trillion, Usec. Batan pointed out.
For this reason, the current administration allocated P7 to P8 trillion for infrastructure projects, more than the total state investments in the sector for the past two decades, he concluded.
https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/08/dotr-triples-capex-for-rail-infra-to-p278b/