The Department of Transportation said it expects to finally start the construction of the common station linking Light Rail Transit Line 1, Metro Rail Transit Line 3 and the planned MRT 7 by September this year.
“By August, we expect to award the contract for the construction of the common station,” Transportation Undersecretary for rails Timothy John Batan said.
Batan said the construction of the project would start in September and would be completed by 2020.
The P2.8-billion common station will be financed and built by the DOTr.
The government and its private sector partners signed a memorandum of agreement in January last year for the construction of the common station.
SM Group’s Hans Sy, Ayala Corp.’s Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, San Miguel Corp.’s Ramon Ang, Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s Manuel Pangilinan and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade signed the memorandum of agreement to build the common station.
The MoA contains the design parameters for the common station, which will be the basis of the detailed designs that will be developed after the signing.
The location is agreed to be between the original 2009 location in front of SM Annex and the 2014 location near Trinoma mall.
The common station project started in 2009 but was put on hold due to legal issues. The Light Rail Transit Authority signed a deal with SMPHI to build the station near SM North Edsa.
Five years later, the Transportation Department decided to build the station near Ayala’s Trinoma, citing reasons to cut costs.
The court intervened and issued a temporary restraining order in favor of SMPHI to stop the construction of the project.