THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation (DoTr) is seeking approval to adjust Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4) project costs ahead of signing a possible loan this year.
The cost adjustment proposal will go to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) after a whileFt from the originally proposed monorail format to a metrorailconfigrace.
“We are still aiming to get this approved by the ADB (Asian Development Bank) board and by the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) board within a year. said R. Batan on the sidelines of a forum last week.
NEDA approval is required before major government projects can change size or cost, Mr Batan said.
He said the monorail lights upfiCapacity will be limited.
“We have seen that we need to move from monorail technology to conventional heavy metro rail technology,” he added.
Mr Batan did not have details on the extent of the cost change, which the DoTr does not yet have finalize.
The move to a higher capacity solution followed a review of passenger forecasts for the MRT-4 service area.
“We saw that demand for East Metro Manila was higher than expected,” he added.
The MRT-4 runs 12.7 kilometers from the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA)-Ortigas Ave interchange. to Taytay, Rizal. There will be 10 stations.
Once operational, the MRT-4 is expected to serve more than 400,000 passengers daily, the DoTr said.
In May, ADB said it is in the process of approving the proposed $1 billion loan to finance the construction of MRT-4, while AIIB said last year that the Philippines is seeking a loan of about $537.4 million from the in Beijing-based bank. — Ashley Erika O Jose