DOTC, San Miguel unit break ground for MRT-7 PPP

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and concessionaire Universal LRT Corp. BVI Limited (ULC) on Wednesday broke ground for the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7).

President Benigno S. Aquino III, the guest of honor during the ground breaking ceremonies, noted the benefits of the project.

"'Yung highway magkakaroon ng six lanes. Hindi na kailangan makipagsiksikan. Kapg natapos, maaaring umabot sa 800,000 pasahero kada araw ang kayang isakay ng ating mga tren. 'Di ho ba napakalaking ginhawa nito?" he said.

In a separate statement, the DOTC said that the project is expected to be completed and operational by 2020.

"The MRT-7 is expected to initially accommodate 350,000 daily passengers and shorten travel time from the current three-and-a-half hours on the road to one hour. Once further upgrades are made, ultimately 800,000 passengers per day will benefit from the project," the department said.

"We are finally ready to start construction of MRT-7," San Miguel Corp. (SMC) President and CEO Ramon S. Ang said during the ground breaking at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City.

ULC is 51-percent owned by SMC through subsidiary San Miguel Holdings Corp.

When fully developed, MRT-7 will account for 5 percent of revenues of diversified conglomerate SMC, Ang noted.

"Maliit lang na project ito sa amin," he said.

850,000 daily passengers

The P69.30-billion project covers the development of a 23-kilometer railway system linking North Avenue, Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. It has 14 stations.

Ang noted MRT-7 is expected to accommodate 56,000 commuters per hour for a daily capacity of 850,000 passengers.

"The project is expected to be completed in three to four years," Ang said.

As a public-private partnership (PPP) project, the 25-year concession agreement also entails the development of an integrated system including a 22-kilometer highway from the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Bocaue Interchange and an intermodal transport terminal next to the San Jose del Monte Station.

As part of the concession, SMC is also building a depot in San Jose del Monte to house a control center, administrative offices, warehouse, and facilities for the light rail vehicles.

DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio "Jun" Abaya said the project would address traffic jams along Commonwealth Avenue.

“The long-awaited MRT-7 will serve commuters who ply the heavily congested Commonwealth Avenue area for work and school on a daily basis. The new railway system will not only significantly lessen travel time along this corridor, but also help decongest traffic in Caloocan and NLEX,” he said in a separate statement. – VDS, GMA News