DOTr eyes deployment of 48 Dalian trains this year

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) targets to deploy the 48 trains that were purchased from Chinese firm CCRC Dalian Co. for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) within the year.

This developed as Dalian agreed to absorb the costs for the adjustments of the trains following the results of a study conducted by independent audit and assessment (IAA) consultant TUV Rheinland earlier this year.

The consultant’s findings showed that the weights and measurements of the Dalian trains did not comply with DOTr’s terms of reference.

The department is currently conducting negotiations with Japanese company Sumitomo-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd to take over MRT system’s maintenance and rehabilitation.

“Our target for the deployment of the trains is within this year. We are also having ongoing talks with Sumitomo,” DOTr communications director Godess Hope Libiran said in a text message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) Thursday.

In a business forum earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade disclosed that Dalian has agreed to pay for the modifications that will be done on the trains during its meeting with Chinese government officials last week.

Tugade earlier said remedies to be done on the Dalian trains should not be shouldered by the Philippine government.

The issue on the Dalian trains must also be addressed as the DOTr prepares for the entry of a maintenance provider that will repair the train coaches and other facilities of the MRT.

The DOTr is eyeing Sumitomo to take over the maintenance operations of the MRT by the end of this month or September at the latest.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee has approved earlier this month the PHP22.061-billion MRT maintenance project.

The rehabilitation will increase the number of train sets in operation from 15 to 18 train sets per hour, increase the maximum speed to 60 kilometers per hour and decrease headway to 200 seconds.

http://www.canadianinquirer.net/2018/08/30/dotr-eyes-deployment-48-dalian-trains-year/

Dalian agrees to absorb cost of fixing MRT trains — Tugade

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) is targeting to deploy the trains manufactured by Chinese firm CRRC Dalian Co. for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) by the end of the year, after securing the Chinese firm’s assurance it will shoulder the costs of any modifications.

“Pumayag na ang Dalian na kung mayroong kailangang baguhin, gastos nila. Yung spare parts, gastos nila [Dalian has agreed that for the modifications needed for the trains, they will pay for it. For the spare parts, they will pay for it],” Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade told reporters after a forum on Tuesday.

Mr. Tugade said the matter of the 48 Dalian railcars, which have not been used since it was delivered in 2016 due to compatibility issues, was discussed during a meeting with Chinese government officials last week.

He said the Dalian railcars will have to be integrated into the MRT-3 system.

“Syempre kailangan kausapin din namin ‘yun para ma-integrate ‘yun. Kasi kung hindi mo i-integrate ‘yun, pag inumpisahan yung repair, how can I achieve 600,000 ridership [Of course we need to talk to them, too so we may successfully integrate the trains. If not, when the repair starts, how will I achieve a ridership of 600,000],” Mr. Tugade said.

The government hired third party auditor TUV Rheinland to assess the needed adjustments on the train sets. The review began in January and the results were submitted to the DoTr in July, but has not been disclosed to the public.

“Sinabi naman sa international audit report na hindi naman critical sa safety ng pasahero at nung system. Kaya nag-uusap din [The international audit report said it is not critical to the safety of passengers and to the system. That’s also why we’re holding discussions],” Mr. Tugade said of the proposed modifications to the rail cars.

Almost two weeks ago, the National Economic and Development Authority’s Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) also approved the P22.061-billion restoration and maintenance project on the MRT-3. It is now up to the NEDA Board chaired by President Rodrigo R. Duterte to greenlight the project.

The DoTr is also looking to secure a deal with Sumitomo Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo-MHI) by the end of the month or in September to handle the maintenance of the MRT-3. — Denise A. Valdez with report from Arra B. Francia

http://www.bworldonline.com/dalian-agrees-to-absorb-cost-of-fixing-mrt-trains-tugade/

Leighton bags NLEX Harbor Link exit project

NLEX Corporation awarded Leighton Asia the contract to build the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Harbor Link Segment 10 — R10 exit ramp project, the latter’s parent company CIMIC Group said on Tuesday.

In a statement, CIMIC said the project will generate around A$140 million in revenue for Leighton Asia, which is under CIMIC Group’s construction company CPB Contractors.

The company said construction work includes a 2.6-kilometer dual, elevated tollway that will connect the existing NLEX Segment 10 Road to the R10 road, as well as ramps, roadworks, electrical and mechanical works, and landscaping.

The Harbor Link Segment 10 — R10 exit ramp project is targeted to be completed by late 2019.

CIMIC Group Chief Executive Officer Michael Wright noted Leighton Asia has been part of the NLEX project’s development since its first phase of construction in 1998.

“The award of this further work reflects our productive and enduring relationship with both Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) and its subsidiary, NLEX Corporation, and is a testament to the high-quality transport infrastructure solutions we provide,” Mr. Wright was quoted as saying in a statement.

Leighton Asia is also working with MPTC subsidiary MPCALA Holdings, Inc. to build the 28-kilometer, four-lane Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAx).

MPTC is the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

http://www.bworldonline.com/leighton-bags-nlex-harbor-link-exit-project/

Motoring Today | Motoring News: DPWH inspects NLEX Harbor Link Segment 1...

San Miguel set to start Quezon toll road project

The tollway unit of San Miguel Corp. will start the construction of the P13.1-billion Southern Luzon Expressway-Toll Road 4 that will extend the highway from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City in Quezon province this year, the Public Works Department said over the weekend.

“We are targeting to start the construction of an expressway from Star Toll to Lucena in Quezon by third quarter of the year,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.

Villar said the agency already acquired more than 5 kilometers of right of way for the project.

The four-lane, 58-kilometer expressway project is expected to make travel from Southern Tagalog provinces such as Batangas, Laguna and Quezon to Bicol Region faster and safer.

The project is divided into five sections. Section 1 covers Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Macban, Laguna (10.58 km); Macban, Laguna to San Pablo, Laguna (12.2 km); San Pablo, Laguna to Tiaong, Quezon (8.1-km); Tiaong to Candelaria, Quezon (14.4 km); and Candelaria to Lucena City, Quezon (12.31-km).

The project is expected to cut travel time between Sto. Tomas and Lucena to just one hour from the usual four hours. South Luzon Tollways Corp., a unit of San Miguel, is the proponent of the project.

SLEX-TR4 is the latest project in San Miguel’s infrastructure portfolio, which already includes the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, the Skyway Stage 3 project, the Naia Expressway project, the existing South Luzon Expressway and the recently upgraded and expanded Southern Tagalog Arterial Road or Star Tollway.

San Miguel also submitted an unsolicited proposal to the DPWH to extend TPLEx to San Juan, La Union from Rosario town for P23.95 billion.

The project involves a 59.4-kilometer four-lane toll road starting from the exit of TPLEx in Rosario to San Juan.  The Rosario section of the expressway is expected to be completed this year, while its Pozorrubio section opened in December 2017.

The extension project would be divided into three segments, with the first segment spanning 18 km from Rosario to Tubao.  The second segment will stretch 23 km from Tubao to Naguilian and the last segment will run 18.4 km from Naguilian to San Juan.

San Miguel said the project aimed to promote the development of Northern Luzon and facilitate connectivity to Central Luzon and Metro Manila through high-speed and secure access.

San Miguel earlier said it was looking to invest about P168 billion to construct modern tollroads and highways that are at par with those of neighboring Asian countries.

http://www.thestandard.com.ph/business/biz-plus/273989/san-miguel-set-to-start-quezon-toll-road-project.html

NLEE construction eyed in 2019 – Villar

By Franco Regala

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar is optimistic that the construction of the North-East Luzon Expressway (NELEX) can be started by 2019.

“We’ll finish the feasibility study this year and construction to start (hopefully) next year,” the secretary said in a recent interview.

He said that once NLEE is completed, portions of Maharlika Highway in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija will decongest. “It will also serve as fast alternative route for those vehicles bound for Cagayan Valley region. This will be connected to the Central Luzon Link Expressway,” Villar added.

NLEE is a 92.1-kilometer toll road that will start in Quezon City will traverse San Jose Del Monte City, Santa Maria, Norzagaray, Angat, San Ildefonso, and San Miguel in Bulacan as well as Gapan, Santa Rosa, and Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/23/nelex-construction-eyed-in-2019-villar/

We complicate things

An accomplished businessman wrote me to say we are needlessly complicating solutions to our problems:

“Inflation is going to eat into consumption unless we build infrastructure to bring in tourists.


“Build Build Build is being oversold. I guess that is the common thread of all administrations. Over promise and under deliver. Without doubt they should be managing expectations. But they should not have created them to start with... but more importantly… they need to focus on only two things:

“Infra for Manila traffic… elevated connector roads. Help Ramón Ang and MVP get the right of way. NLEX-SLEX connector, C6… etc;

“Infra for tourism. The southern airports; Clark and a new Manila airport. That is all the time they have.


“And how to finance it? First priority privatize… second, sell all the assets they have… SMC. Cocobank. All of NPC. etc..  They pride themselves in dividends… CAAP and PPA paying dividends… Mama mia. That is terrible. They should be building ports… Davao, Cebu, Manila all congested…

“Just look what happened when something was done…

“There were tons of traffic to MOA and the airport… San Miguel builds one measly NAIA expressway and the traffic disappeared… We do not have too many cars. We have too few roads… Two connector roads and C6 and you will see the change.”

I share his view. The bane of our existence as a nation is our propensity to complicate the simple. It is probably due to the number of surplus lawyers, specially in government, trying to make themselves appear useful.

It is also because of corruption endemic in our system. Officials and bureaucrats make things complicated because it is not easy to make illicit money when things or processes are simplified.

That was why I thought Duterte was different. He has this record of simplifying things in Davao City Hall. I was hoping he can do the same thing at the national level.

But the last two years showed the system is too entrenched for reform. Not even the much claimed political will of Duterte made a difference. Maybe he was too focused on drugs he didn’t try hard enough on other things.

Anyway, we need public officials who can reduce problems to simple terms. The previous and the current administrations failed to produce persons like that to head DOTr and DPWH.

The problems at NAIA are not new. It has a single international runway and has long exceeded the number of passengers it is rated to handle. Flights in and out are delayed costing airlines and passengers billions of pesos in losses. There is no room for a second parallel runway unless government has the political will to expropriate subdivisions in its periphery.

There is Clark, but too cumbersome for Metro Manila passengers. EDSA traffic makes the trip to the business center too punishing. There is talk of a fast train connection. But even then, Tugade talks of the service up to Tutuban only and not a fast train.

In the meantime, there are a number of unsolicited proposals to build a brand new international airport from scratch. The most advanced of these proposals is from San Miguel… no subsidy, no guarantee from government, all private risk.

It had been approved by the NEDA board in a meeting presided by President Duterte last April 26. It is a simple solution to the NAIA situation, but it is not moving.

That unfortunate accident at NAIA last week has exasperated people enough to ask in social media: what is keeping San Miguel from starting to build their dream airport? NEDA-ICC and DOF.

Apparently, the NEDA Board approved the project for Swiss challenge subject to final negotiations on the concession agreement.

NEDA-ICC and DOF were supposed to consolidate all comments of government agencies and then pass these on to DOTr for use as guidelines when it sits down with San Miguel for the final terms before Swiss challenge. DOTr had been waiting for NEDA-ICC and DOF to send those comments, but have received nothing over the last four months.

Under BOT rules, negotiation on the concession agreement must be concluded in 80 days after a notice of negotiation is issued by DOTr. We are not even there yet. Maybe middle of next year is being optimistic for construction to start.

Grapevine tells me DOF is sitting on it, worried that the project is too big to fail. Even if no explicit or implied government guarantees are involved, DOF is concerned about the health of the banks lending to San Miguel if the project fails. But banks are big boys and San Miguel’s lenders are international banks.

The NAIA modernization proposal of the Taipan consortium should also move fast because like the San Miguel airport, it also has original proponent status and urgently needed. But our bureaucracy has no sense of urgency. They love studying proposals to death.

 Sayang. The San Miguel airport proposal is urgently needed and is totally private risk. San Miguel is ready to operate the Bulacan airport without asking government to shut down NAIA.

 SMC’s proposed airport will be built on a 2,500-hectare property with up to six runways. It will be able to handle more than 100 million passengers a year.

As a bonus, the airport project will help address Bulacan’s perennial flooding problem by building a spillway to discharge excess water from denuded watersheds directly to Manila Bay. 

Our problems are simple and so are the solutions. Our bureaucrats just insist on complicating things.

Enough of that now. We have no time to waste, not with a fast growing population that is sinking deeper into poverty unless we grow a lot faster.

Jelly fish

The fact that jellyfish has survived 650 million years without brains gives hope to many people.

(Not sure how true. And I am not necessarily thinking of our bureaucrats.)

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco

https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/08/24/1845198/we-complicate-things

PHL, China accelerating implementation of infra projects

BEIJING—Manila and Beijing have affirmed their commitment to speed up the preparation and processes needed to ensure the timely implementation of the Duterte administration’s flagship infrastructure projects with financial support from China.

In a meeting here with the People’s Republic of China’s State Councilor and Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi Wednesday night (Aug. 22), Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the preparation for the projects to be implemented by the Philippines in cooperation with China “have already been moving quite fast ahead,” particularly the South Long Haul Manila-Bicol Railway and the Clark-Subic Railway projects.

“Under the guidance of President Duterte, we have been working very hard to achieve both the goals of President Duterte and President Xi Jinping in the development of the relationship between China and the Philippines,” Dominguez said during the meeting.

Minister Wang, for his part, said that “what is needed now (are) specific and concrete actions to move forward (our) practical cooperation across the board.”

“What I hope you and our other friends sitting here today will do is to have more communication with your counterparts so that jointly, we can fully tap the potential of our cooperation,” Minister Wang said.

Also at the meeting were the other members of the Philippine delegation, including Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade; Vivencio Dizon, president-CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA); and other senior government officials.

Minister Wang said bilateral relations between the Philippines and China have vastly improved and “entered a fast track of development under the guidance of President Duterte and President Xi.”

“There are many works of cooperation to be advanced. I hope and I believe, through your current visit, we will reach even more consensus and cooperation between our two countries to deliver even greater benefits to the Chinese and Filipino people and make our respective contributions to regional peace and stability,” Minister Wang said.

Dominguez, for his part, said that since President Duterte assumed office, “the relationship (between the two countries) has become very close.”

He informed Minister Wang that the Philippines has “received a lot of investments from your country as well as tourists have been coming in (from China).”

Minister Wang informed Dominguez and the rest of the Philippine delegation that he and his counterpart, Secretary Cayetano “and our two foreign ministries will coordinate with other respective departments to do as much as we can to foster a sound condition (and) atmosphere for the economic cooperation between our two countries.”

The warm relations between the two countries since President Duterte assumed office in 2016 has led to rising Chinese investments in the Philippines.

Net foreign direct investment (FDI) from China for the period January-May 2018 registered a 534 percent increase over the net FDI from that country for the whole 2017. Total approved investments from China, meanwhile, grew by 57.14 percent over the previous year.

Bilateral trade with China has also increased since 2017, with total trade between the two countries reaching $13.9 billion in the first half of 2018.

The number of Chinese tourists entering the Philippines hit almost one million in 2017. The Philippines’ target for 2018 is to bring in 1.5 million tourists from China.

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)