The Transportation Department said the construction of the long-delayed common station that will link Metro Manila’s overhead train systems will start in September.
“The groundbreaking will be in September,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said, adding that Congress and the private sector already approved the location of the common station.
Tugade signed a memorandum of agreement in January with SM Group’s Henry Sy, Ayala Corp.’s Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, San Miguel Corp.’s Ramon Ang and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s Manuel Pangilinan to build the common station for Light Rail Transit Line 1, Metro Rail Transit Line 3 and the planned MRT 7.
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 2014 location near Trinoma mall.
The P2.8-billion common station will be financed and built by the Transportation Department and is expected to be completed by April 2019.
The MOA would also address the issue of the temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court on the the common station project.
The common station project started in 2009 but was put on hold due to legal issues. The Light Rail Transit Authority initially signed a deal with SM to build the station near SM North Edsa. Five years later, the Transportation Department under the Aquino administration decided to build the station near Ayala’s Trinoma.
The court intervened and issued a temporary restraining order in favor of SM to stop the construction of the project.
