2 transport projects on track for ’22 completion ‍

Two big-ticket infrastructure projects in Metro Manila aimed at enhancing the mobility of commuters and pedestrians alike have been progressing en route to starting their operations next year, according to two multilateral lenders that extended the loans to finance their implementation.

In a report, the Washington-based World Bank said the Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line 1 “made progress in engaging with Quezon City and the City of Manila” such that “both LGUs (local government units) have expressed their strong support to the project.”

A World Bank loan is financing the P5.5-billion, 11.5-kilometer BRT lane traversing Quezon Avenue and España Boulevard to serve as many as 300,000 passengers daily once in operation by June 2022.

To accelerate implementation, the Department of Transportation needs to secure a budget for 2021 to proceed with the procurement of key consultant services, it said.

The BRT will cut the travel time between the stations in Quezon Memorial Circle and Manila City Hall from two hours to only 43 minutes through a system of 167 high-quality buses.

Faster and safer

Like trains, BRT systems run on dedicated lanes, carrying big numbers of travelers faster and safer. But unlike trains that run on rails, BRTs use buses, making the system simpler and cheaper to construct, operate and maintain.

In a separate report, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) said procurement for the P8.5-billion Edsa Greenways Project was on track to build covered and elevated walkways in Balintawak, Cubao, Guadalupe and Taft to allow pedestrians and commuters to hop from one public transport to another safely and seamlessly along Metro Manila’s main and traffic-congested thoroughfare.

Construction goods and works for the Balintawak and Cubao walkways worth $71 million will undergo open competitive bidding as a package during the first half of 2021, just like the Guadalupe and Taft portions amounting to a combined $50.3 million.

The ADB in December last year green-lit the $123-million loan for its host-country’s Edsa Greenways, under which the Department of Transportation will build and rehabilitate a total of five kilometers of five-meter wide walkways near four Light Rail Transit and Metro Rail Transit stations.