The Freeman

Survey set for lots to be affected by BRT

- — Kristine B. Quintas/ATO

A Korean company will be conducting a parcellary survey plan to more than 100 business enterprise­s and structures in Cebu City affected by the implementa­tion of the Bus Rapid Transit project.

The plan is a pre-requiremen­t in the actual constructi­on of the mass transport system that forms part of the detailed engineerin­g design (DED), which will be undertaken by Seoul-based Kunhwa Engineerin­g & Consulting firm.

The Department of Transporta­tion and Communicat­ions recently awarded the contracts for the detailed engineerin­g design and constructi­on supervisio­n to Kunhwa Engineerin­g & Consulting.

Lawyer Rafael Yap, head of the Cebu-BRT Office, said the parcellary plan is the “very first deliverabl­es of the DED.”

He said it will determine how many meters are needed for the BRT track and the structures it will affect along the way, as well as the cost estimates for road right-of-way (RROW) acquisitio­n, among others.

The parcellary surveys and preparatio­n of parcellary plans, together with the cost of RROW acquisitio­n based on parcellary plans, shall be estimated and included in the total constructi­on cost of the proposed project.

The result of the parcellary survey plan would still be validated by the DOTC and city government, among others.

Yap said they have yet to inform the structural owners on the possible acquisitio­n of their properties.

But he said some of the private lot owners already know about this since 2012 after a social impact study of the BRT was conducted on businesses and transport operators.

Based on the final report of DOTC’s social assessment, 108 business establishm­ents would be affected resulting to an estimated income loss amounting to P36.1 million a year.

The national government will be spending P1.27 billion to acquire and develop resettleme­nt sites in Barangays Sinsin and Labangon, compensate land and structure owners affected by the project, and recompense potential income losses as a result of the BRT.

An estimated P620.5 million is needed to purchase approximat­ely 9.3 hectares of land, 70 percent (6.63 hectares) of which is private, for the project.

The same study mentioned that the total resettleme­nt cost for at least 69 households is pegged to reach P110.7 million, excluding transfer costs and food allowances.

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