DOTr ends common terminal contract for Metro railways
A bus company reportedly involved in an accident along North Luzon Expressway in Valenzuela City was suspended early Tuesday morning, according to Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) issued the formal notice of termination against the contractor of the Unified Grand Central Station, the common terminal in Quezon City that is envisioned to link major railways in Metro Manila.
The notice served to BF Corp. and Foresight Development and Surveying Co. (BFC-FDSC) Consortium cited the delays in the project’s construction.
The central station will connect the Light Rail Transit Line 1, Metro Rail Transit Line (MRT) 3 and MRT 7. The 13,700-square-meter common station is in Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City, at the intersection of Edsa and North Avenue and is designed to service up to 500,000 passengers daily.
PPP
Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon, in a statement on Friday, said he was hopeful that the “construction for the transit train hub could restart immediately to fast-track the process” through public-private partnership (PPP).
However, the DOTr has yet to provide specific details on the next steps, including the bidding process for the contract.
READ: DOTr dropping contractor in LRT-MRT central station project
The DOTr first announced its plan to terminate the contract in March after conducting an inspection.
Dizon said commuters could have benefited already from the project if not for the delays.
The contract for the construction of the common station was awarded to BFC-FDSC in 2019. The project was supposed to be finished in 2021.
BFC is a construction firm founded by the late Bayani Fernando, former chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
The common station is designed to have an intermodal integrated system below, allowing commuters to transfer and travel by buses, jeepneys or taxis conveniently.
Priority projects
To fast-track the country’s transportation projects, Dizon earlier ordered the creation of Flagship Project Management Office, which is tasked with directing policies related to infrastructure building and ensuring the “allotment of maximum effort and resources of the DOTr.”
The office also monitors the progress of the infrastructure flagship projects to ensure these will be completed within the set deadlines.
Other priority projects cited by Dizon are the Metro Manila Subway, North-South Commuter Railway and Edsa Busway. —TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD
