Transport consortium wants to study if monorail system is best for City

A Manila-based corporation wants to conduct a business case study for a monorail system of transportation in Cebu City.

Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr. sponsored a resolution that will authorize Mayor Tomas Osmeña to sign the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the City Government and Philtram Transportation Consortium Inc., the company who will undertake the study.

Philtram, in cooperation with CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co. Ltd., is preparing urban rail project studies in the country to help solve its traffic problem in some key cities.

Under the proposed MOU, the study will include activities such as analysis of present and future trip generations, ridership levels and fares, preliminary design and related cost estimates, management options, project viability assessment, formulation of implementation plans, project financing and probable options for arrangements for the management and operations.

The City, for its part, will assign personnel who will form part of the technical working group to help the private company in accessing data, reports, studies and documents from other government agencies.

At the end of the study, Philtram is mandated to inform the City of the results.

“If the study will conclude that the project is viable, and Philtram intends to proceed with the monorail project, under existing legal framework of the government, it may or may not, on its own volition, proceed with the next phase of project development, which is the conduct of bankable feasibility study,” read portion of MOU.

However, the Cebu City Council wants the city legal office and the committee onlLaws to comment on the MOU before it will be approved.