Consortium submits P5 billion EDSA Rapid Trackway

MANILA, Philippines — A consortium led by investment banker and inventor Francis Yuseco intends to undertake a P5-billion mass transit system along heavily congested  EDSA.

The consortium’s unsolicited proposal for an EDSA Rapid Trackway under a build, operate and transfer scheme has been endorsed to the Department of Transportation (DOTr)’s planning team for proper evaluation .

“Rest assured that our consortium has the financial, technical and operational capabilities to provide our people a world class mass transit system equipped with the latest cutting-edge software and hardware technologies that we can all be proud of,” Yuseco said.

Yuseco, CEO of the Trackway consortium, told The STAR that the proposal would be financed with 30 percent  equity and 70 percent local debt.

“Once we are awarded the original proponent status, our proposal will be subject to Swiss challenge, but the challenger needs to confront first our Intellectual Property Rights protection under RA 8293, the Intellectual Property Code, and RA 7459, the Invention and Inventors Incentives Act of the Philippines,” Yuseco said.

Designed as a complement to the EDSA MRT, the proposed EDSA Rapid Trackway includes the construction of 35 fully air-conditioned Sky Stations (every 500 meters from Monumento to Mall of Asia) equipped with escalators, elevators, waiting lounges, wireless fiber optics, clean and hygienic comfort rooms, convenient stores, and coffee shops.

The consortium will deploy an initial fleet of 250 air-conditioned double decker buses with an average speed of 60 kph, controlled and monitored from a command center.

The double decker buses will have separate cubicles per passenger.

All stations are eyed to be complemented with shuttle electric mini-buses to and from the various central business districts, subdivision villages in Makati, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Parañaque all the way to Alabang.

An integrated cashless ticketing system for its main trackway along EDSA and various shuttle services is also included in the proposal.

Once the project is implemented, the consortium said it would be able to transport more than one million passengers a day to and from the various villages and CBDs in Metro Manila.

“Commuters will be able to ascend and descend to and from weather protected Sky Stations safely and conveniently and private car owners will be encouraged to patronize its world class facilities. Major decongestion along EDSA will come, as a matter, of course,” the consortiums said.

“Most of all, the consortium will be able to free the Philippine government from more unnecessary foreign loans which are subject to foreign currency risks. Similarly, the consortium will also not require any form of fare subsidies or sovereign guarantees whatsoever,” it said.

The Trackway consortium is composed of Yuseco’s Philtrak Inc., bus operator DLTB, bus manufacturer Del Monte Motor Works, smart and cashless toll collection system firm Micrologics Systems Inc., FEMP Safety Engineers, Land Excel Consulting Co., AirSpeed International Freight Forwarders, BAC Engineering Services and Leechiu Property Consultants.