AGI’s Infracorp is ready to start monorail skytrain project this year

Infracorp Development Inc. is s ready to start building the proposed 2-kilometer Skytrain monorail this year after the Department of Transportation (DOTr) granted the company the Original Proponent Status for the project.

“We can start the project before the year ends and this will take us two years to complete it. By early 2021, we can open the Skytrain to the public,” Infracorp president Kevin L. Tan said on Monday.

Infracorp submitted the unsolicited proposal to the government last Oct. 26, 2017.

“Under the proposed agreement, Infracorp will build the Skytrain and transfer its ownership title to the government. Infracorp will have the sole right to operate the Skytrain,” the company said.

Holding company Alliance Global Inc. has said it was building the monorail skytrain for free.

“Under the proposal, a station will be built in Guadalupe, Makati City near the MRT station and another in Uptown Bonifacio, a township development of AGI’s real estate arm Megaworld, at no cost to the government,” according to AGI.

According to property developer Megaworld Corp., the Transportation secretary signed and approved the proposal last week. Infracorp is a subsidiary of Megaworld.

“The letter was dated May 17, 2018 and got signed by Secretary Arthur Tugade on May 25, 2018,” Megaworld told GMA News Online.

“We laud the government’s quick action to the proposal. This is another clear indication of the government’s serious commitment and focus on infrastructure developments,” Tan said.

The P3.3-billion project will utilize the automated cable-propelled monorail technology. It is envisioned to reduce the travel time from Fort Bonifacio to MRT Guadalupe Makati to only five minutes.

Infracorp will make provisions for interconnecting with other transport hubs operating along monorail route. The company envisions to benefit 60,000 to 100,000 passengers daily commuting to and from the bustling business districts of Makati and Taguig.

“We envision to connect Makati to Taguig and vice versa. These two largest business districts in the country need an efficient and fast transport system that is at par with what the other business districts in cosmopolitan cities like Tokyo and Sydney have,” Tan noted.

With the DOTr’s endorsement of the project, the proposal will go through a review by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board’s Investment Coordination Committee. —VDS, GMA News