June 21, 2012, Business World Online
by Cliff Harvey Venzon
THE EXTENSION of the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) will push through, a Cabinet official clarified on Thursday, explaining that the reported review for the P9.72 billion project is part of preparations for its auction.
“How can it be suspended when it’s in the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority board) review [pending] government approval?” Transportation Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II said in a text message to BusinessWorld when asked to confirm reports that the project had been shelved.
“The project is undergoing the normal, regular government procurement process,” Mr. Roxas added. “There is no ‘hold’ nor ‘suspension’. It is being process at the NEDA [board] level.”
The project involves the extension of the 13.8-kilometer (km) railway–which runs from Santolan in Pasig to Rector Station Manila–by an additional 4.19 km to Masinag Junction in Antiplo City.
The project, which is included in the priority list of the government’s public private partnership program, bagged the approval of the NEDA-Investment Coordination Committee in May.
It was then elevated to the NEDA board, chaired by President Benigno Simeon S.C. Aquino III, for further review.
Mr. Roxas on Tuesday said that a population study is being conducted to make sure what population base will be served by the additional two stations in Cainta and Antipolo in Rizal, respectively. –Cliff Harvey C. Venzon
