The project to extend the Light Rail Transit 2 to Port Area in Manila has been approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board chaired by President Benigno Aquino III.
The NEDA Board, in a meeting on May 19, approved the P10.12-billion LRT Line 2 West Extension Project under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
The project involves the design and construction of the extension of the existing LRT Line 2, the endeavor to run from Recto Station westward to Pier 4 area including the turn-back track. The extension will have a total length of about 3.02 kilometers and have three proposed additional stations: Tutuban Station (located next to the Cluster Mall); Divisoria Station (located west of the Recto Avenue and Asuncion Street intersection; and Pier 4 Station (located 50 meters north of Zaragoza Street).
Entrance to the North Port passenger terminal is on Zaragoza Street. Target date for completion of the project is 3.5 years.
Aside from the LRT 2 extension, the NEDA also approved projects on irrigation, fire safety, and local development, as well as the restructuring of two infrastructure-related projects.
“These projects are part of our strategy to make the Philippines’ agriculture, industry, and services sectors more competitive,” NEDA director general Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.
“The approved projects on irrigation and roads in provinces will help facilitate local growth and development among the projects’ covered regions or areas in the country,” Balisacan added.
Among the projects given the go-ahead were the P2.63-billion Agno River Irrigation System Extension Project of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA); the P13.37-billion Balog-Balog Multipurpose Dam Project Phase II, also under NIA; the P1.43-billion Capability Building Program of the Bureau of Fire Protection Phase II; and the P231.1-million Local Government Unit Investment Programme Supplement III of the Land Bank of the Philippines.
Likewise approved was the restructuring of two projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Changes to the Road Improvement and Institutional Development Project include the deletion of six sub-components under the Institutional Capacity Development and inclusion of the reconstruction and replacement of typhoon-damaged Macasoy Bridge along Dipolog-Oroquieta Road in Zamboanga del Norte. At the same time, the project cost was increased to P6.93 billion from the previously approved P6.24 billion, due to the change in scope and currency adjustments. A 24-month loan extension was also granted, from the original June 30, 2016 to June 30, 2018.
Restructuring of the National Roads Improvement and Management Program Phase II of the DPWH was also given the green light. The NEDA Board approved DPWH’s proposal to restructure and reallocate US$60 million of a $232-million loan from the World Bank to assist local government units in expediting rehabilitation efforts in Typhoon Yolanda-devastated areas in the Visayas. Also, the two-year extension on the World Bank loan was granted, the deadline moved to December 2016 from December 2014.
