North transport terminal eyed at Veterans complex

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) expects to sign this month an agreement with the Department of National Defense (DND) for the planned mass transport terminal at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) complex in Quezon City.

Transport Secretary Joseph Abaya told reporters the DOTC is set to sign the memorandum of agreement for the proposed Integrated Terminal System (ITS)-North to be located at the VMMC.

“Hopefully, we can sign it this December,” he said.

An agreement needs to be signed with the DND for the project as the agency supervises the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office which handles the operations of the VMMC.

The government plans to bid out the ITS-North project which will involve the construction of mass a transportation intermodal terminal in the north of EDSA, under the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

The project would cater to passengers coming from Northern Luzon by connecting them to other transport systems such as city bus, taxi, and other public utility vehicles serving inner Metro Manila.

The facility will have passenger terminal buildings, arrival and departure bays, public information systems, ticketing and baggage handling facilities, and park-ride facilities.

The winning bidder of the project will undertake the design, construction, and financing of the ITS terminal as well as the operation and maintenance of the whole facility. It will likewise be allowed to undertake commercial development and collect revenues generated from the same.

Abaya said the feasibility study for the project is almost complete.

Upon completion of the feasibility study, the DOTC is hopeful it can roll out the ITS-North project by next year.

Asked about the cost of the project, Abaya said it might be the same as the P4-billion ITS-South PPP project located along the Food Terminal Inc. compound in Taguig City recently awarded to Ayala Land Inc.