DOTr racing to complete airport, seaport, road and rail projects
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation went all-in on continuity from the Duterte administration as it vowed Monday to fast-track the completion of big-ticket transportation infrastructure projects across the country to increase Filipinos' productivity and efficiency.
At the 2022 Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines-MVP Infrastructure Forum on Monday morning, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said that the agency is "pushing the pedal to the metal" in completing its infrastructure projects in the road, aviation, railway, and maritime sectors.
"After marking my first 100 days as transport secretary, I can probably say I have successfully overcome my learning curve and formulated the direction for the department. That is, elevating the country's transport system to global standards," Bautista said.
"As we Build Better More, we aim to reduce travel costs, create domestic trade opportunities, unlock the economic potential of the regions through investments and business stimulation and by facilitating the exchange of goods by integrating them into the local, regional or global value chains."
Bautista at the forum Monday touted the agency’s milestones in the first 100 days of the Marcos administration, including:
- the coordination efforts with transport stakeholders to ensure the smooth transition of the face-to-face classes
- opening of additional routes for public utility vehicles from before the coronavirus pandemic
- providing free rides for students along the Light Rail Transit-Line 2
The transport chief also touted the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ortigas and Shaw Boulevard stations of the Metro Manila Subway and the contract signing for the last segment of the 147-kilometer-long North-South Commuter Railway.
Other big-ticket railway projects will also continue under the Marcos administration's Build Better More initiative, including the Common Station, MRT-7 project along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, and the LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project.
Bautista presented a number of long-term projects, many of which were only at the civil works and finalization of bidding documents for procurement stages, including:
- EDSA Greenways Project
- EDSA Busway Bridge and Concourse
- Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program
- Automated Fare Collection System Euro-Mastercard-Visa Pilot Production Testing Project
Bautista said the DOTr is addressing both the air and maritime connectivity needs of Filipinos "by continuing building more airports and seaports, and modernizing existing ones." The DOTr will also tap the Pasig River Ferry System as an alternative and convenient corridor for commuters, he said.
The transport chief said his department was talking to schools, government offices, and private establishments to private bike parking and other facilities for bike users to take showers and change their clothes. This would promote the use of alternative modes of transportation, he said.
Commuters have said that the public transport crisis that the Marcos administration inherited is largely a supply problem, though not many short-term solutions were broached by the DOTr.
Bautista also said the department was still "studying" proposals to privatize the EDSA Busway Carousel, where two bus stations in Roxas Boulevard and Taft Avenue were recently opened.
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