Govt eyes June for start of MRT-LRT loop project

MANILA, Philippines - Pressed to stay on schedule, state-owned train operator Light Rail Transit Authority (LRT) is hastening the awarding of the MRT-LRT mass railway loop project so that construction could start in June. The rail link project would connect the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1’s Monumento station in Caloocan City with the Metro Rail Transit’s (MRT) North Avenue station in Quezon City in a bid to ease Metro Manila’s traffic problem. In a telephone interview, bids and awards committee (BAC) Chairman Cesar B. Chavez said Thursday they hope to award the contract to the winning bidder by June 9 for packages A and B, and by July 17 for package C. The MRT-LRT Loop has three components: package A, which is divided in two phases and involves the construction of a viaduct and pedestrian overpass; package B, which will build and modify train stations; and package C, which entails electromechanical works. "We are now doing the technical bidding for A1, A2 and B wherein the engineering design submitted by the bidders are tested and the financial checks will follow right after," Mr. Chavez said. For packages A1 and B, only D.M. Consunji-First Balfour, Inc. qualified to join the bidding. F.F. Cruz and Co., Inc.-Filipinas Systems, Inc. has joined the Consunji and Lopez venture for package A2. Meanwhile, package C, Mr. Chavez said, was declared a failed bid after DMCI-First Balfour, the only party qualified to join the bidding, failed to submit its engineering design documents. Asked about their options, Mr. Chavez said: "RA (Republic Act) 9184 says that in case of a failed bid happening twice, we can negotiate. We can still meet [our] schedule." The MRT-LRT Loop involves the construction of three new stations, one located at the MRT-3 North Avenue end and the other two at Balintawak and Muñoz Market in Quezon City. The P5.9-billion development, which starts operating in 2009, is expected to start in June after the contract is awarded. The Metro Rail Transit system, popularly known as the MRT, is part of Metro Manila’s metropolitan rail system. It has a single line, MRT-3 or the Blue Line. Although it has characteristics of a light rail, such as the type of rolling stock used, it is more akin to a rapid transit system. It is not related to the Manila Light Rail Transit System, a separate but linked system. One of its original purposes was to decongest Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), one of Metro Manila’s main thoroughfares and home to the MRT. The MRT is operated by the Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC), a private company operating in partnership with the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) under a build-operate-transfer agreement. Meanwhile, the Light Rail Transit system, popularly known as the LRT, has two lines: LRT-1, called the Yellow Line, and MRT-2, called the Purple Line. The LRT, operated by the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), a government-owned and controlled corporation, is the first metro system in Southeast Asia, built earlier than Singapore’s MRT by three years. Many commuters who ride the LRT and MRT also take road-based public transport, such as buses, to reach their destinations from a station. Both the MRT and LRT have been only partially successful in decongesting Metro Manila’s main roads, and traffic is further aggravated by the rising number of motor vehicles. - BusinessWorld