THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Sunday said Megawide Construction Corp. has committed to finish the southwest provincial terminal along Coastal Road in Parañaque City in 18 months as part of the Integrated Transport System (ITS) in various parts of Metro Manila.
“The representatives of Megawide committed to finish the terminal in 18 months,” MMDA Officer in Charge Thomas M. Orbos said after the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic (iACT) on Saturday conducted an ocular inspection of the sites of the ITS.
Orbos was joined by Transportation Undersecretary Anneli Lontoc, Transportation Assistant Secretary Mark de Leon, Chairman Martin Delgra of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and representatives from the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) and the Philippine Ports Authority, in visiting the site of the permanent southwest provincial terminal along Coastal Road in Parañaque City now being constructed by Megawide.
The iACT members also went to the FTI Complex, site of the future South Terminal, to be constructed by Ayala Land Inc.
Orbos said the purpose of the on-site inspection and meeting with the contractors is to ensure the viability and accessibility of the project locations and reiterate the requirement of the government for the terminals.
“These terminals must be constructed within two years maximum so as to provide convenience and comfort to the commuting public and, at the same time, help in traffic decongestion,” Orbos said.
The South Terminal would house buses and passengers from Laguna and Batangas and allow in-city public-transport transfers, such as city buses, taxis and other public-utility vehicles.
Meanwhile, the southwest provincial terminal would connect passengers coming from Cavite to other urban-transport systems.
The ITS project is intended to improve traffic flow through vehicular-volume reduction along Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares by eliminating provincial bus traffic on designated points.
The contingent also rode the Pasig River ferry, which the government is promoting as an alternative mode of transportation. “We see a lot of potentials for the ferry system. We will submit our findings and recommendations to Secretary [Arthur P.] Tugade next week,” Orbos said. Lontoc said iACT is continuously searching for doable solutions to address the traffic problem in Metro Manila.
06 November 2016
By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
