Gov’t, ALI break ground on transport terminal

The government saved R 9 billion in the construction of the Taguig Integrated Terminal Exchange (ITX) project as the private partner, Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI), agreed to waive royalties, or Annual Grantor Payment (AGP), of R277 million per annum for the next 35 years, according to Department of Transportation (DOTr) Arthur Tugade.

The DOTr yesterday led the groundbreaking of the over R5-billion ITX, a state partnership with Ayala Corp. meant to decongest traffic at EDSA and cater to all provincial buses plying the south of Luzon, Visayas and Mindandao destinations.

The Taguig ITX is a 6-storey building on a 5.57-hectare property inside the FTI compound which would house a passenger concourse, a centralized ticketing area plus business and retail establishments. Construction starts by the 2nd half of 2018 and the terminal is scheduled to start operation by 1st half of 2020.

It can accommodate 1,200 public utility buses and vehicles’ bays and parking. Once completed, it will house around 4,000 buses, with a capacity for 160,000 passengers daily. It will also feature a pedestrian walkway connection to the PNR FTI station and the proposed subway system.

DOTr Secretary Tugade said he asked ALI to forgo the R9-billion AGP. ALI also agreed to share 2% of their income from the commercial spaces to the government, “a win-win solution that will ultimately benefit the Filipino people.”