MANILA, Philippines – Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) yesterday broke ground on the P65-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite Extension project to mark the start of construction works.

Composed of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., Ayala Corp.’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) PTE Ltd., the consortium was awarded the public-private partnership project to operate, maintain and extend the LRT-1 in 2014.

For the extension, the consortium is spending P35 billion, while the rest would come from the government.

The extension would involve construction of eight new stations such as Aseana, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino and Dr. Santos Stations in Parañaque City, Las Piñas and Zapote Stations in Las Piñas City and Niog Station in Bacoor, Cavite.

Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade said during the groundbreaking ceremony, the government would want the construction of the LRT-1’s Extension to be completed ahead of the fourth quarter of 2021.

“A well-meaning partnership between private sector and government can fasttrack the projects. We believe that if the construction and infrastructure could be completed at the soonest possible time without sacrificing quality and cost, the benefits will immediately accrue to the people,” he said.

LRMC president and chief executive officer Rogelio Singson said the consortium expects construction to be completed by the middle of 2020, should the right of way be delivered by the government.

He said delivery of right of way for package 1 which covers five stations of the extension is almost done, while delivery of right of way for package 2 covering two stations, is close to 80 percent.

“We hope to be able to have the revenue line operational by the first quarter of 2021,” he said.

LRMC is optimistic the LRT-1 Cavite Extension would contribute to providing ease in the commute to Metro Manila.

“The Cavite Extension will serve an additional 300,000 commuters and will significantly reduce travel time from Bacoor, Cavite to Manila from about two hours to about 40 minutes,” Singson said.

The design of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension took into account accessibility of the new stations to shops, schools, and offices to provide convenience to passengers.

LRMC has already worked on the repair of light rail vehicles to bring the total number to 100 as of December last year from 77 in September 2015.

The consortium is also undertaking a rail replacement project for the train line’s 33-year-old tracks.

In February, it completed the improvement works at the Doroteo Jose station, the first phase of the P500 million Station Improvement Project which involves upgrading the LRT-1’s stations to provide a better passenger experience.

LRMC expects to complete the next phase of the Station Improvement Project covering United Nations, Gil Puyat, Abad Santos, Pedro Gil and R. Papa station in June.

05 May 2017
By Louella Desiderio