By Aerol John B. Pateña
View of Carriedo St. in Manila: Photo shows how Carriedo St. in Manila looks like as viewed from the Carriedo station of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 on Thursday (Aug. 11, 2016). The street, which teems with vendors, leads to the revered Quiapo Church. (PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.)
MANILA (PNA) – The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has signed an agreement which identifies a single location for a Common Station that will provide connectivity between LRT Line 1, MRT Line 3 and the proposed MRT Line 7, putting an end to the impasse over the seven-year-old railway project.
A Memorandum of Agreement was signed Wednesday by Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade; Public Works Secretary Mark Villar; SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPHI) President Hans Sy; Vice Chairman of the North Triangle Depot Commercial Corp. and Chairman of Ayala Land Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala; San Miguel Corp. (SMC) President Ramon Ang; Light Rail Manila Consortium (LRMC) Vice Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan; and Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) Deputy Administrator Emerson Benitez.
The final site of the Common Station will be situated between SM North EDSA and Trinoma malls. A vehicular underpass designed to decongest the North Ave.-EDSA intersection will be built to seamlessly integrate with the Common Station.
The parties have agreed to meet again to finalize its engineering design that will enable commuters to conveniently transfer from one line to another via a common concourse or atrium.
The shareholders agreed to set the end of this year as the target date for the groundbreaking, and its completion between two-and-a-half years after the groundbreaking.
“There’s a difference between signing and doing, but apparently we have come to an agreement. Assuming that the architectural and engineering designs are done and agreed with, hopefully we can ground-break before the end of this year,” Tugade said.
Tugade expressed his sincerest gratitude to the shareholders for coming together and agreeing to reach a compromise in the name of public service.
“I thank you all for trusting this government. I thank you all for believing. But more importantly, I thank you all for giving us a chance to do something,” he said during the signing in Makati. “For so long as there is mutual trust, a lot will be given and a lot will be taken. And I think it’s all about trust and believing in the government.”
The transportation chief said he once thought that gaining the agreement among the major stakeholders on building the Common Station would be difficult but this was proven wrong by the private sector’s support for the government.
“I remember very well before I assumed the position, I was advised that one of the most difficult agenda I will tackle was the issue of a common station… And lo and behold, they are all here, showing their oneness and support on something that can bring good fruit not only to the business but more importantly to the country,” Tugade said.
For his part, SM’s Hans Sy said, “We’re participating to show our good faith, and to express that we support programs that are geared to benefit the public.”
Speaking for Ayala Land Inc., Jaime Zobel de Ayala added that he is looking forward to participating in more government projects and working together with other businessmen.
“It’s a pleasure for us to be one participant together with these other groups in making this critical component and critical junction for three railway systems to come together. I think if we can continue to cooperate and coordinate this way, there are many other things that we can take down,” he said.
Ramon Ang of SMC also expressed his gratitude for the initiatives taken by the transport secretary.
“I’d like to thank Secretary Tugade’s effort and leadership to finally put everybody together and make this thing happen,” he said.
“Very beneficial to the public,” commented MPIC chairman and LRMC vice-chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, “especially that this has been delayed for years now.”
Getting the consensus of shareholders for the single location of the LRT-MRT common station was among Tugade’s goals for the first 100 days of the administration.
In a meeting last Sept. 8, the country’s top CEOs — SM’s Tessie Sy-Coson and Hans Sy, Ayala’s Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, San Miguel’s Ramon Ang, and Metro Pacific’s Manny Pangilinan agreed that a unified station is necessary to make commuting more convenient to the public.
The Common Station project started in 2009 but has been put on hold since. The LRT Authority initially inked a deal with SMPHI to build the station near SM North EDSA. Five years later, the transportation department decided to build the station near Ayala’s Trinoma, citing reasons to cut costs. The Supreme Court intervened and issued a Temporary Restraining Order in favor of SMPHI to stop the construction of the Common Station.