-
The Department of Transportation has signed contracts for consultancy services of four infrastructure flagship projects
-
DOTr has tapped Public-Private Partnership Center, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and SyCip Gorres Velayo & Company
-
The four projects involved are the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit operations and maintenance and feasibility studies for the NCR EDSA Busway; Manila Bay-Pasig River-Laguna Lake Ferry System; and North Long Haul Inter-Regional Railway
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has signed the contract for consultancy services of four infrastructure flagship projects (IFP).
DOTr recently signed the contract with the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Center, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Isla Lipana & Co (PwC Philippines), and SyCip Gorres Velayo & Company (SGV).
The projects involved are the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) operations and maintenance, and feasibility studies for the NCR EDSA Busway; Manila Bay-Pasig River-Laguna Lake Ferry System (MAPALLA); and North Long Haul Inter-Regional Railway.
During the contract signing, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said DOTr will rely on the private sector’s expertise in transportation planning, architecture, landscape architecture, civil engineering and other aspects of the projects.
“Pursuant to the President’s directive, the DOTr is working full speed and is commencing the feasibility studies of four IFPs,” the transport chief said.
PPP Center deputy executive director Eleazar Ricote, in a separate statement, said through the Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF), a revolving fund managed and administered by the PPP Center, “the DOTr is assured of access to best practices and technology transfer through international and national experts.”
The PDMF is a funding mechanism available to agencies and local government units for developing bankable PPP projects and ensuring effective monitoring of project implementation.
The North Long Haul Inter-Regional Railway will be an 800-kilometer (km) railway, which will reconstruct the legacy railway to Ilocos and Cagayan Valley and is aimed to provide better transportation for passenger and goods, linking rapidly urbanizing economic centers in the northern and northeastern parts of Luzon.
The MAPALLA will reconstruct and expand the Pasig River Ferry for quality and higher frequency services throughout the Greater Capital Region, including Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.
The ferry system will feature low-carbon ferries servicing tens of thousands of passengers daily.
The NCR EDSA Busway, meanwhile, is expected to enhance the existing EDSA Carousel to address the high demand for transportation services along the median of EDSA and feeder roads by increasing capacity and service reliability.
The project may also involve the introduction of electric buses, reducing the carbon emissions along heavily trafficked corridors of Metro Manila.
A 13.18 km bus lane in Cebu stretching from Mambaling to Cebu IT Park, the Cebu BRT is expected to serve up to 160,000 passengers daily in its full operations.
RELATED READ: Funding for studies of 3 transport projects approved
