The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Tuesday it is evaluating a proposal by the local government unit of San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan province to realign the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 station that may delay the project’s full completion.
“We are studying it together with San Miguel Corp. if there’s a need to realign,” DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista said.
“If there will be a realignment, there will be a change of scope and cost, then it will return to NEDA [National Economic and Development Authority],” he said.
Bautista assured that the partial operations from North Ave. to Lagro in Quezon City would begin by the first quarter of 2025 as planned.
He said the construction on the Bulacan station had not yet begun and would start after two years.
The DOTr earlier said the construction of 22.8-kilometer MRT 7 reached 69.68-percent completion as of April 2024.
“I saw the full speed construction, and I’m very happy that they are completing the Quezon City leg of MRT-7 which will be operational at the end of 2025,” Bautista said.
Bautista said the project is very important because it could serve 300,000 passengers in the first year of operation.
Once the whole stretch is completed, the trip from Quezon City to San Jose Del Monte would only take 35 minutes, down from two to three hours at present.
The Marcos administration identified the MRT-7 project as one of 194 high-impact infrastructure flagship projects under its “Build Better, More” program, which are deemed crucial to improving the quality of life of Filipinos.
The MRT-7 project will have 14 stations at North Ave.; Quezon Memorial Circle; University Avenue; Tandang Sora; Don Antonio; Batasan; Manggahan; Dona Carmen; Regalado; Mindanao Avenue; Quirino; Sacred Heart; Tala; and San Jose del Monte.
It can accommodate 300,000 passengers in its first year of operations, and up to 850,000 passengers daily in its 12th year.
The project will also feature an intermodal transportation hub catering to other types of public transportation and a 19-km highway from San Jose del Monte to Bocaue, Bulacan.
