MANILA, Philippines — Infracorp Development Inc., the infrastructure company of tycoon Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), is looking to begin construction of its two-kilometer Skytrain monorail project by the second half.
“Optimistically, we can break ground in the second half,” AGI CEO Kevin Tan said.
Tan said the project is expected to be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority -Investment Coordination Committee in its next meeting.
“We have made the groundworks already for the right of way and then we’ve also done the bidding,” he said.
The Skytrain monorail project secured in 2018 the original proponent status from the Department of Transportation, giving it the upper hand once a Swiss challenge process is undertaken.
“There will always be a Swiss challenge, but we anticipate that hopefully there will not be any challengers,” he said.
Tan said the project would cost P3.6 billion and is expected to be completed in two years.
“Part of the plan is to have an O&M (operations and maintenance) partner and it would most likely be one of the suppliers we will choose for the project,” he said.
The Skytrain project will use automated cable-propelled monorail technology, reducing travel time from uptown Bonifacio to MRT Guadalupe to only five minutes, at no cost to the government.
The project will also make provisions to interconnect with other transport hubs operating within the area where the monorail passes through and is seen to benefit around 100,000 commuters every day.