Govt plans $1.41b Manila transit project
Govt plans $1.41b Manila transit project
MANILA (AP): The Philippine government said on Wednesday it plans an ambitious US$1.41 billion mass-transit project aimed at easing the monstrous traffic problem for metropolitan Manila's 10 million residents.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered speedy implementation of the Medium-Term Transportation Development Plan for railways in the sprawling capital after the project was presented to her Cabinet Tuesday, a government statement said.
The plan was among the recommendations in a study on an integrated urban transportation system for metropolitan Manila up to 2015. The study was funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Metropolitan Manila, which covers 17 cities and municipalities, has one of the worst traffic problems in Southeast Asia, and its air quality is rapidly getting worse. The Manila-based Asian Development Bank said in 1997 that vehicle and industrial emissions pose severe health hazards, particularly to children and the elderly.
The rail project includes upgrading and increasing the efficiency of existing commuter lines. The statement didn't specify the source of funding.
The first of seven rail projects involves a $194 million plan to increase the daily capacity of the 15-kilometer Light Rail Transit system from 400,000 to 1 million passengers. The winning bidder is expected to be announced next month.
A $7.8 million project to automate the fare payment system on that line, which runs through central Manila, is expected to be completed in September.
The 15-year-old line also would be extended to southern towns and suburbs under a project that would cost about $97 million.
The government also plans to build a 14-kilometer east-west line between Manila's Divisoria district and suburban Pasig by 2004 as a cost of $581.5 million.
The Light Rail Transit will be connected in four years to Manila's newest line, the Metro Rail Transit, under a $270 million project. That will complete the rail loop above Rizal Avenue and the EDSA highway, the main arteries of the metropolis.
The government also plans to rehabilitate a 50-kilometer commuter line between Manila and Calamba, in Laguna province to the south, by 2006 at a cost of about $263 million.
A 22-kilometer line is also planned to link Manila and the Novaliches district to the north, but the government statement gave no details on the project.