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.