DOTR aims for partial operability of Cebu Bus Rapid Transit in ’21

THE Department of Transportation (DOTR) is targeting the partial operability of one of the crucial segments of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (Cebu BRT) within the year as Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade ordered round-the-clock construction work.

In a meeting in Cebu on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, Tugade said that he wants Package 1 of the Cebu BRT to be partially in operation this year to respond to the need for mobility amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The transport chief ordered the Cebu BRT project management team and the other concerned transportation officials to implement a 24/7 construction work schedule, with three work shifts that will employ and generate jobs for more local residents of the province.

Tugade also stressed that the project contractor and personnel with key roles in the Cebu BRT project must be based in Cebu, and that 90 percent of the project’s total work force must be Cebuanos.

“While I’m addressing our program of projects, I am addressing the need of the economy and I’m addressing the requirements of the pandemic,” said Tugade.

“These are extraordinary times. They need extraordinary processes,” he added, stressing the need to generate more jobs for Cebu residents who were displaced from their livelihood by the pandemic. With this, the transport chief said, the national economy will blossom with the local economy.

Tugade also directed to make sure that the project’s work schedule and timeline of completion will be aligned with the election ban next year, and that the procurement process should be fast-tracked.

In his meeting with the Cebu BRT project management team, Tugade was updated on the latest status of the project’s major components, particularly Package 1, which covers the 2.6-kilometer busway, with four stations, urban realm enhancement, and vital intersection improvements. Currently, Package 1 is already at the procurement stage.

While I’m addressing our program of projects, I am addressing the need of the economy and I’m addressing the requirements of the pandemic.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade