Commuters in the southern part of Greater Manila can look forward to a more comfortable travel experience in the future, now that the plan to extend the metro rail transit system to Cavite is finally pushing through.
Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) on October 2 signed the concession agreement with the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) for the P64.9-billion Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 Cavite extension, the government’s eighth awarded public-private partnership program.
Under the agreement, LRMC will construct, operate, and maintain an additional line of 11.7 kilometers from Baclaran to the Niyog Station in Bacoor, Cavite. It is also contracted to operate and maintain the existing LRT line 1 from Roosevelt to Baclaran. The integrated LRT Line 1 will span a total of 32.4 kilometers and have a concession period of 35 years including its construction.
LMRC in a statement said it will invest P35 billion in the project.
LRMC is the joint-venture company of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s (MPIC) Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., Ayala Corp.’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., and Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte Ltd.
The extended rail line is envisioned to help ease the worsening traffic conditions in the Parañaque-Las Piñas-Cavite corridor and enhance commercial development around the rail stations, LMRC noted.
LRMC said it is partnering with three leading French companies to deliver a world-class rail transit system. Both Bouygues Travaux Publics and Alstom Transport have a track record in constructing mass rail transit systems in France and other parts of the world. RATP, operator of the Paris Metro, has been tapped as LRMC’s technical partner.
Following the signing of the concession agreement, the grantors and LRMC are expected to complete certain requirements and obligations before LRMC officially takes over the existing operations, which is scheduled no later than one year from the signing.
