How will the Fort Bonifacio Skytrain look like
A two-kilometer Skytrain monorail will be built from Guadalupe in Makati City to Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City to provide a faster mass transit system to about 100,000 commuters daily.
Roads leading from Edsa to Fort Bonifacio are currently crowded, if not clogged, because of the huge volume of vehicles going to the new central business district (CBD) that sometimes take more than an hour. The proposed Skytrain monorail aims to reduce the transfer time to five minutes.
Infracorp. Development Inc., an infrastructure company controlled by billionaire Andrew Tan and his holding company Alliance Global Group Inc (AGI) is investing P3 billion in the Skytrain monorail project which is expected to start construction this year.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) earlier granted Infracorp an ‘original proponent status’ (OPS), which means it has the right to match any competing bid under a Swiss challenge.
Infracorp president Kevin Tan welcomed the government’s “remarkable” speed in reviewing the proposal.
“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,” said Tan, a son of Andrew Tan who has interests in real estate, hospitality, liquor, gaming and restaurant businesses.
The company is ready to start the construction of the monorail project within the year, according to Tan.
“We can start the project before the year ends and this will take us two years to complete it. By early 2021, we can open the Skytrain to the public,” he said.
Infracorp submitted an unsolicited proposal to the government on October 26, 2017.
Under the offer, Infracorp will build the Skytrain and transfer its ownership title to the government. Infracorp will have the sole right to operate the Skytrain.
The P3-billion Skytrain monorail project will use the automated cable-propelled monorail technology, and it will reduce travel time from Fort Bonifacio to MRT Guadalupe Makati and vice versa to only five minutes – at no cost to the government.
The project will also make provisions to interconnect with other transport hubs operating within the area where the monorail passes through. It envisions to benefit around 60,000 to 100,000 passengers daily going to and from the bustling business districts of Makati and Taguig.
“We envision to connect Makati to Taguig and vice versa. 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 Keven Tan.
Following the DOTr’s endorsement of the project, the proposal will still go through a review by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board’s Investment Coordination Committee.
AGG, one of the youngest yet diversified conglomerates in the country, formed Infracorp in 2017, as its foray into infrastructure projects, particularly to participate in the government’s Private-Public Partnership (PPP) projects.
The company is also part of the ‘Superconsortium’ that submitted a proposal to rehabilitate and expand the Ninoy Aquino International Airport along with some of the country’s biggest conglomerates.
Infracorp is also looking into other potential infrastructure projects, particularly on transport solutions, in several business districts around Metro Manila and in key growth areas around the country, according to Tan.
28 May 2018
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