SMC given until Feb 19 to submit MRT-7 report

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is giving San Miguel Corp. (SMC) until Feb. 19 to submit the report for the financial closure of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) to avoid delays on the project.

DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya told reporters yesterday SMC has yet to submit the report for the financial close of the project.

“Feb. 19 is a clear deadline. If they don’t (meet that), the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) Board approval will expire. We’re hoping they could get the financial close before,” he said.

Should SMC fail to comply with the deadline, he said the project would have to be brought back to the NEDA Investment Coordination Committee for approval.

There are also two possibilities on what the NEDA Board can do should SMC fail to meet the deadline.

Abaya said the NEDA Board could give its approval again on the project and SMC would be given another 18 months for the financial close, or the NEDA Board could decide on its own on the merits.

Universal LRT Corp. (ULC), a unit of SMC, holds the concession for the planned P63-billion MRT-7.

In 2008, the DOTC and ULC signed the contract to build the MRT-7 which covers the 22.8-kilometer rail system from North Ave. corner EDSA in Quezon City, passing through Commonwealth Ave., Regalado Ave. and Quirino Highway up to the proposed Intermodal Transportation Terminal in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

Once completed, MRT-7 is expected to serve two million passengers in the cities of Quezon and Caloocan as well as the province of Bulacan.

Earlier, SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said the company is looking to submit the report for the financial close of the MRT-7 in December.