The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is mulling over the privatization of the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) and bundling it with the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), whose private concession is set to end in 2025.
Transport Undersecretary for Railways Cesar Chavez told reporters they were combining the two railways in one O&M deal to make it more attractive to private operators.
He said the DOTr has “agreed in principle” insofar as what direction they will take, but the plan has yet to be finalized. A task force was already created to tackle the contract, Chavez added.
Other components of the terms of reference might include the railway’s development and rehabilitation, he said.
MRT-3 is currently operated by Sobrepeña-led Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC). The asset will be turned over to the government after the build-lease-transfer deal has lapsed.
LRT-2, meanwhile, is under the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), a wholly owned government corporation.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista had said “railway systems should remain the most affordable and safest mode of mass transit in the country.”
The DOTr noted all railways in the metro receive subsidies from the government to keep fare prices affordable.
LRTA incurred a deficit amounting to P4.81 billion arising from operations in 2021, narrower than the P5.09-billion losses in 2020 at the height of pandemic-induced lockdowns.
MRT-3, meanwhile, registered a deficit of P7.44 million as of Nov. 30, 2021. In 2020, it booked P9.18 billion in losses.