Common Station groundbreaking expected by September — Tugade

THE COMMON STATION that will link Metro Manila’s three urban rail systems will finally break ground in September after securing the approval from “people that matter,” Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said, following contentions on the location of the project.

On Jan. 18, the government, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. Director Hans T. Sy, Ayala Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jaime Zobel de Ayala, and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) President and CEO Ramon S. Ang signed a Memorandum of Agreement which among others detailed that the common station will be located in the middle of the original 2009 site in front of SM Annex and the 2014 location near Ayala’s TriNoma mall in Quezon City, ending a deadlock spanning nearly eight years.

“September,” Mr. Tugade told reporters when asked when the groundbreaking will be held.

Construction of the 13,700-square meter common-station project is expected to start by December this year and be completed by April 2019. This will connect LRT Line 1 (LRT1), Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), and the currently under- construction MRT-7 from North Avenue, Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

Some sectors, however, have expressed concern over the location of the common station. The Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, for one, described the MoA as a “compromise agreement,” adding that “public convenience, not the least cost, should be the main consideration for the MRT-LRT common station.”

Some lawmakers have also expressed skepticism over the proposed new location, which they said “clearly meant to favor the business interests of the two malls” and “sacrificed the welfare of the public.”

“Na- explain ko na ho sa mga pamunuan, kasama na yung mga sa pribado, maski na ho yung mga liderato sa Kongreso, ’yung mga kasamahan natin sa Gabinete na kung saan naliwanagan naman sila kung bakit kailangan ’yung

common station doon po ilagay,” Mr. Tugade told reporters. (I explained to the government, even the private [sector], the leadership of Congress, our colleagues in the Cabinet and they were enlightened about why the common station should be [where we proposed it to be].)

“Meron pa ring may ayaw diyan, pero ’yung opinyon, ’yung approval ng people that matter,

okay na, kaya ilalagay na po [’ yung common station doon] (There are those still opposed to it, but we have the opinion and approval of the people who matter.),” the Transportation chief added.

The government will shell out P2.8 billion for the construction of the common station’s Area A — where the platform and entrance for LRT-1 and MRT-3 will be located.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) said the original cost for the 2009 location was P2.6 billion at 7,200 sq.m., while the 2014 location cost was pegged at P1.4 billion at approximately 2,500 sq.m.

The P2.8 billion will be financed and built by the DoTr, while the operation, maintenance, and development will be split between Light Rail Manila Corp. for LRT-1 and DoTr for MRT-3.

Henry Sy-led SM and Ayala’s TriNoma will have naming rights for the common station.

The impasse over the common station location ended in September 2016, after the DoTr’s meeting with Messrs. Pangilinan, Sy, Zobel, Ang and SM Investments Corp. ViceChairperson Teresita Sy-Coson.

To recall, in 2009, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) and SM Prime entered into an agreement for the common station to be located at a junction near SM City North EDSA.

In 2013, the DoTr — then the Department of Transportation and Communications — decided to transfer the common station to a site across the TriNoma mall, saying this will reduce construction costs. This prompted SM Prime to sue the government for breach of contract.

In July 2014, SM Prime secured a Supreme Court (SC) stay order stopping the transfer of the common station’s site to TriNoma. The high court in May 2016 refused the government’s plea to lift the halt order.

The DoTr said early this year that SM Prime, DoTr, and the LRTA will file a joint manifestation with the SC advising the Court of the MoA to address the issue of the TRO vis-a-vis the common station project.