Groundbreaking rites for the elevated rail extending the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 to Cavite are expected to push through later this month or by early March, according to operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC).
LRMC president and chief executive officer Rogelio Singson on February 7 said the company is ready to hold the ground-breaking ceremony by late February or early next month “as committed.”
LRMC—a consortium composed of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd.—bagged the P64.9-billion LRT Line 1 Cavite extension project in September 2015.
The project involves extending Line 1 from its existing Baclaran Station to the future Niyog Station in Bacoor, Cavite, a length estimated to reach about 11.7 kilometers (km). Of this length, 10.5 km will be elevated and 1.2 km will be at grade.
The new stations will be put up in Aseana, Manila International Airport, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. A. Santos Avenue, Las Piñas, Zapote, and Niyog. When finished, the integrated LRT 1 will have a total length of around 32.4 km, and will be operated and maintained by the private proponent.
Construction of the Cavite extension was supposed to start in 2015, but was hampered by right-of-way issues.
Singson said LRMC has yet to secure from the government a notice to proceed with the construction, but has already received the permit to enter the site.
“With permit to enter, I can start fencing, clearing, and a lot of engineering works, buying us a year or more,” Singson said during the company’s inauguration of the newly refurbished LRT Line 1 Doroteo Jose Station, which is part of its P500-million station improvement project.
Singson said the Cavite extension project is targeted for completion by 2020 or 2021.
Image courtesy of khunaspix at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
