DOTr sought to fast track P17B Cebu BRT project

CEBU, Philippines — The National Economic and Development Authority has urged the Department of Transportation to fast track the implementation of the long overdue Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

In an official statement, NEDA said the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) said it urges the DOTr to fast track the implementation of the World Bank-funded BRT project, which forms part of the Metro Cebu Intermodal and Integrated Transport System (MCIITS).

NEDA wants to achieve interoperability of the BRT by June 2021.

"The MCIITS, which will include the CBRT, a skytrain project, intelligent transport systems, light rail transit, and a greenways project, among others, encompasses the package of solutions to address congestion and transport problems in Metro Cebu," NEDA noted.

The NEDA-ICC earlier asked the DOTr to hire a technical consultant to reevaluate the feasibility study the project.

Earlier, NEDA secretary Ernesto Pernia said the BRT line for Cebu will now span 17 kilometers instead of the initially proposed 23-kilometer line, saying the remaining 6 kilometers have narrow roads, quoting DOTr chief Arthur Tugade.

The Cebu BRT project, pegged to cost at P17 billion, is proposed to ply the Bulacao-Ayala-Talamban route.

The DOTr had proposed to implement an integrated transport system in Cebu.

The ITS will include a point-to-point (P2P) bus system similar to MyBus, which is already operational in the city; a monorail in Lapu-Lapu City; the BRT in three-lane roads; and the LRT lines from Carcar to Danao, and the Mandaue to Airport Line.

To cater to inter-city passengers, the LRT system will become the major component of the ITS. It will traverse from the city of Carcar to Danao City. A Singaporean-Chinese and Filipino consortium had submitted a proposal to construct a US$3-billion LRT system with a subway component in Cebu City, an above ground component from Talisay to Carcar and from Mandaue to Danao, with an air.