Aside from cable cars, a new 2-kilometer monorail proposal that aims to link the busy BGC and Makati business districts is a step closer to approval after the Department of Transportation gave the go signal for review.
The Skytrain, the debut project of infrastructure firm Infracorp Development Inc., was granted the “original proponent status” on Monday, several months after its parent company Alliance Global Inc. pitched it to the government.
Infracorp President Kevin Tan welcomed this and assured that the proposed venture would begin construction within 2018.
“We laud the government’s quick action to the proposal. This is another clear indication of the government’s serious commitment and focus on infrastructure developments,” Tan said.
Cheers and jeers
A station will be built near the MRT Guadalupe station and another near BGC Uptown Mall which is owned by the real estate arm of AGI.
One Twitter user noted that there are already jeepneys plying the planned Skytrain route, which takes approximately 11 minutes by car.
“From Uptown to Guadalupe? Isang jeep lang ‘yan e, less than 10 minutes. The train tracks should be constructed from C5 to Ayala station instead, cutting through the villages,” Huawei De Guzman pointed out.
There are others who expressed skepticism on the possible fares and waiting time for each ride.
Meanwhile, those who gave positive feedback hoped that this project would also include other heavily congested areas as well.
I wouldn't mind commuting to Makati if the improvements soon include major thoroughfares in and out of the city. https://t.co/oIzSK9yNyy
— Pia Saavedra (@saavedrakorinna) May 28, 2018
What is Skytrain?
Last October 2017, AGI submitted the proposed new train system to help ease traffic congestion in the cities and introduced Infracorp as its builder, which will also cover all the costs.
Infracorp would specifically manage all infrastructure projects as part of the private sector’s moves to take part in the Duterte’s administration’s infrastructure plan.
In a statement, Infracorp said that the construction of Skytrain would cost P3 billion and is expected to be finished in two to three years or in early 2021.
The trains will utilize a cable-propelled monorail technology in its system to reduce the travel time of around 60,000 to 100,000 daily passengers from the traffic spots of Makati and Taguig to five minutes.
“These two largest business districts in the country need an efficient and fast transport system that is at par with what the other business districts in cosmopolitan cities like Tokyo and Sydney have,” said Tan.
The DOTR will endorse the proposal for review to the National Economic and Development Authority’s Investment Coordination Committee.
If approved, Skytrain would begin construction and may also make provisions to interconnect to other transport hubs within the area that the cable-operated system will pass through.
Under the proposal, Infracorp will transfer the ownership of Skytrain to the government after being built.
