DOTC sets bid for LRT-MRT common station

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is set to bid out the construction of the proposed P1.4 billion common station linking the Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit in the third quarter of the year.

DOTC Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla said the government would have to wait for the detailed engineering and design of the common station from the winning concessionaire of the P65 billion LRT line 1 Cavite extension project.

He pointed out that the winning bidder of the public private partnership (PPP) project extending the LRT1 along Taft avenue from Baclaran all the way to Niog in Bacoor, Cavite would also design the proposed common station.

According to him, it would take the winning bidder at least three months to prepare the detailed engineering and design.

The DOTC is set to issue a bulletin naming the Trinoma Mall owned by property giant Ayala Land Inc. in Quezon City instead of the SM North Edsa as the site of the proposed common station.

The government could save as much as P1 billion if the MRT-LRT common station is constructed near the Trinoma Mall instead of the earlier planned SM City North Edsa.

The DOTC originally picked SM North EDSA as the site of the proposed common station but later revised the plan and transferred the site near the Trinoma mall.

Mall giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. of retail magnate Henry Sy already paid P200 million to state-run Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) for the naming rights of the common station.

The DOTC has decided to extend the deadline for the submission of bids for the P65 billion LRT1 Cavite extension project by another month to May 28 instead of April 28.

The groups interested in joining the bidding include the tandem of infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and conglomerate Ayala Corp. through the Light Rail Manila Consortium, construction giant DM Consunji Inc., Filipino-owned Megawide Construction Corp., Spanish-owned Globalvia Inversiones SAU, SMC Infra Resources Inc. of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., Eco Rail Services Inc. of businessman Reghis Romero II, and Malaysian-owned MTD Philippines Inc.