Cebu City, RDC to jointly monitor BRT

CEBU, Philippines - The Regional Development Council and the Cebu City government will jointly monitor the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit in 2017.

Mayor Michael Rama said the city government is willing to partner with RDC-Regional Project Monitoring Committee in the monitoring of the project as proposed by National Economic Development Authority-7 director Efren Carreon.

The newly-approved mass transport system in Cebu will be the first BRT system available in the country. It is a bus-based mass transit system that is flexible and more affordable offering a “safe, efficient and comfortable travel.”

Carreon said this was one of the major projects envisioned in the Updated Central Visayas Regional Development Investment Program.

To recall, the Cebu-BRT was endorsed by the RDC-7 last March 26, 2012 through resolution No. 05 to the NEDA Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) for approval.

“If I didn’t fight for it under my term as RDC chairman, how could there be a BRT?”Rama said.

Within the year, the Department of Transportation and Communication is expected to award the detailed engineering design contract.

The detailed engineering design, which will identify and quantify all the essential works needed for the implementation of BRT construction, of the transport and procurement for construction services, will last eight months while the actual project implementation will take at least two years to finish.

The Cebu-BRT project costs the national government at least P10.6 billion.— /FPL (FREEMAN)