LIGHT RAIL Manila Corp. (LRMC), the operator of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), is looking at completing the last two sections of the Cavite line extension project by 2027, its top official said.
“I think that that is what we are targeting, [but it has to be] with a lot of work from the Department of Transportation (DoTr),” Juan F. Alfonso, president and chief executive officer of LRMC, told reporters in a chance interview last week.
According to Mr. Alfonso, LRMC has an agreement with the government for the complete turnover of the right of way for the remaining segments of the project before the company starts its construction activities.
“We are waiting to hear from the DoTr because it is supposed to be turned over to us. Our agreement is when they turn it over to us, it is free and clear,” he said.
He added that a timeline has not been set for the turnover of the complete right of way for the remaining segments of the project.
However, a company representative said that the 2027 completion target will largely depend on the right-of-way acquisition.
“For the year for phases 2 and 3, it will depend on when we will receive the right-of-way acquisition completely, then count three to four years from there for us to complete the works,” a representative of the company said in a Viber message.
As of last week, Mr. Alfonso said that the government had not yet turned over any right of way to the LRT-1 operator for the second and third phases of the project.
However, he said that the first segment of the project, which constitutes the first five stations of the LRT-1 Cavite extension project, is on track to be completed by the fourth quarter of next year.
Data from the company showed that the first phase of the project is at an 88% completion rate, with the five stations more than 50% complete.
The first segment covers the MIA Station, Ninoy Aquino Station, Redemptorist Station, Asia World Station, and Dr. Santos Station, while the remaining segments will cover the construction of the Las Piñas, Zapote and Niog stations.
Last week, the company started running its first fourth-generation train set which is also expected to serve not only the main line of LRT-1 but also the Cavite extension.
LRMC is the joint venture of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd. Metro Pacific Light Rail is a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT Inc. and Philex Mining Corp.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
