P11.5 billion Baguio mass transport monorail pushed

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY -- A multinational holdings company is proposing to the local government a P11.5 billion mass transport project composed of a 4-km elevated monorail around the central business district area and a series of feeder lines  composed of battery-powered buses to make Baguio City the first urban center to pilot green ecosystem and electric-powered monorail system.
    The prosed monorail project will consist of eight strategic stations around the central business district which will be powered by electricity and some 300 battery-powered buses that will service transportation of residents from their residences to monorail stations and to their places of work.
    Robert John Sobrepen֮a, chairman of the Metro Global Holdings Corp., said the project will be inclusive of all sectors involved in the city’s public mass transportation to ensure alignment with existing policies.
    He told city officials during recent executive-legislative meeting that initial estimates for the project was based from a pre-feasibility conducted by the company.
    The company was authorized by the city government to conduct a pre-feasibility study for the proposed mass public transportation solution to help address worsening traffic problem, air and noise pollution with the goal of bringing back the city’s greenery through various environmental programs and projects.
    “The project will be fully funded by the company through the public-private partnership over a 50-year period of the franchise,” Sobrepen֮a said.
    Under the company’s proposal, the local government will be entitled to five percent of the fixed fare that will be collected from the single use ticket system.
    Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong urged the company to submit its unsolicited proposal for evaluation and assessment by the city’s Public Private Partnership for the People Selection Committee.
    He added proponent should also consider public utility drivers directly affected or displaced by the project.
    He said there are other companies that have made similar proposals to the local government, thus, the same will be subjected to evaluation and assessment by the city’s P4 committee once proposal is submitted.