France offering €400,000 grant for Metro Manila cable car feasibility study

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said it may tap a grant from France amounting to €400,000, or about P25 million, to conduct a feasibility study on a cable car route in Metro Manila.

“There is a grant from the French Embassy, and we are waiting for approval from the Office of the President,” Transportation Undersecretary for Administration and Finance Garry V. De Guzman said in a recent interview.

The study will evaluate the suitability of cable cars for Metro Manila’s transport needs, though other locations may be considered such as Baguio and Boracay.

Mr. De Guzman said France wants to focus on urban centers, adding that the Metro Manila project is not limited to EDSA. He said the cable car may also connect main lines to make it easier for passengers to move around.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said in May the DoTr is finalizing details on the cable car plan, subject to a reasonable fare that will make it competitive with other modes of transportation.

The government first floated the idea of installing cable cars a month after President Rodrigo R. Duterte took office in 2016. It is meant to augment existing traffic solutions, especially in highly-congested areas of Metro Manila.

In March 2017, Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Infrastructure Ltd. also expressed their intent to explore a cable car route linking the Mactan-Cebu International Airport to major dropoff points in Cebu City. —