World Bank team due here for talks about BRT System

CEBU, Philippines - A team from the World Bank is due in Cebu late this month to discuss with authorities the proposed Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) System.

Engr. Nigel Paul Villarete, the City Planning and Development Coordinator, said he received a letter from World Bank funding agency Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) informing him that a mission is due in Cebu on April 27 to 29.

The WB mission, according to Mark Woodward, Sustainable Development Leader for East Asia and the Pacific-PPIAF, will be a follow up for the development of a public transportation strategic plan for Metro Cebu.

The WB mission, Woodward said in his letter, will coordinate with Cebu City and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to ensure that the proposed PPIAF-financed study is consistent and complements the broader work initiated by DOTC.

DOTC has already opened the bidding for the undertaking of a metropolitan-wide analysis of traffic for Cebu City and its three neighboring cities.

“We just have to meet so that the Terms of Reference for the BRT will be finalized and make sure that the study of WB and DOTC is leading to the same direction,” Villarete said

The mission will also explore opportunities for World Bank support in financing the BRT demonstration project in Cebu City.

The mission will be composed of Baher El-Hifnawi, the task team leader; Samuel Zimmerman, urban transport advisor; Victor Dato, the Philippines Transport Sector Coordinator; Hope Geroche, PPIAF Program Officer and Gia Mendoza, program assistant.

On the other hand, former Bogota, Columbia Mayor Enrique Peñalosa will be talking with DOTC and other concerned sectors for other inputs in the establishment of the BRT.

The BRT System in his city is the first recorded success of such method of mass transportation.

His meeting with DOTC is scheduled on May 9. In this meeting, DOTC is already expected to give some reference based on the research that will be conducted in Metro Cebu.

The BRT is like a rail system, but instead of trains, buses are used. — Ferliza Contratista/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)