DOTC may bid out LRT Dasma extension

MANILA, Philippines – A proposal to extend the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) to Dasmariñas from Bacoor in Cavite will require another bidding, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said.

Currently, the government is bidding out the P60-billion “LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project,” which will extend the rail system to Bacoor from Baclaran, Parañaque City.

DOTC Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla said the government is pressed for time to complete the Aquino administration’s largest infrastructure project to be undertaken through a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

Lotilla said the proposed extension to Dasmariñas instead of just Niog in Bacoor would entail a separate study as well as approval by several agencies led by the National Economic and Development Authority.

The Cavite extension project would lengthen LRT-1 to 32.4 kilometers from 20.7 kilometers. The extension project includes 10 additional stations, 10.5 kilometers of viaduct, support beams, and 3 intermodal facilities.

The stations would include Redemptorist Church in Baclaran, MIA Road, Asiaworld, N. Aquino, Dr. Santos, Manuyo Uno, Las Pinas, Zapote, Talaba, and finally Niog.

Approximately 10.5 kilometers of the Cavite Extension System would be elevated and 1.2 kilometers would be at grade level serving nearly 4 million residents of Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Cavite province.

The DOTC has pre-qualified 4 groups in the bidding – Light Rail Manila Consortium, SMC Infra Resources Inc., the MTD-Samsung Consortium, and DMCI Holdings Inc. These groups would be allowed to bid for the P30.6-billion civil works portion of the P60-billion project on May 27.

The governments of the Philippines and Japan are set to ink a P30-billion yen loan agreement to bankroll the acquisition of trains to be used for the project on March 15. – Rappler.com