RDC eyes P7 billion for Baguio-Trinidad monorail transit

BAGUIO CITY  – The Cordillera Regional Development Council approved a resolution April 6 creating an ad hoc committee for the proposed Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) system or monorail project in Baguio City and La Trinidad, Benguet to start feasibility study for the P7 billion environmentally-friendly transport project  connecting  said areas.

The RDC-CAR resolution stated that the results of the –re-feasibility study of the AGT project in Baguio City and La Trinidad areas prior to the conduct of a full-blown feasibility study which is a requirements of potential investors.

The Department of Science and Technology, in its bid to address the need for environmentally sustainable transport technologies that could ease air pollution and traffic congestion, developed the AGT, which is an electric train and fully automated, driverless transit system, which helps curb the serious negative effects of climate change.

The DOST-CAR and the Metals Industry Research and Development Center entered into an agreement with the city government of Baguio on December 16, 2013 for the study on the viability of deploying the AGT road train technology in the city and the said study was funded by the DOST-CAR and was commissioned to a private consultancy firm, specifically the Traffic and Transport Planners, Inc.

Under the RDC-CAR resolution, the composition of the ad hoc committee are duly authorized representatives from the Cordillera offices of the Department of Tourism, Department of Transportation and Communication, National Economic Development Authority, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippine National Police, Department of Public Works and Highways, DOST, Land Registration Authority, Department of the Interior and Local government, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, private sector representatives, provincial government of Benguet, municipal government of La Trinidad, city government of Baguio, municipal government of Itogon, municipal government of Sablan, municipal government of Tublay, municipal government of Tuba, federation of jeepney and taxi operators and drivers in Baguio, La Trinidad and Tublay and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Baguio-Benguet chapter.

The ad hoc committee is tasked to seek endorsements for the conduct of a full-blown feasibility study from the concerned authorities and agencies; prepare the terms of reference for the preparation of the full-blown feasibility study; oversee the conduct of the full-blown feasibility study; facilitate the conduct of consultations among the concerned sectors and explore for funding sources for the full-blown feasibility study.

Based on the initial pre-feasibility study results, the Baguio line of the monorial project, which has a total length of around 5.2 kilometers, costs at least P4 billion while the La Trinidad line of the project which is around 2.1 kilometers long will have a total cost of P3 billion. - Dexter A. See