San Miguel Corp. said it plans to extend Metro Rail Transit Line 7 to Bocaue, Bulacan from San Jose Del Monte City.
“Yes, we are in talks to extend the MRT 7 to Bocaue from San Jose Del Monte,” San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said.
Bocaue, a first-class municipality, is located northeast of Bulakan town, the proposed site of the New Manila International Airport which San Miguel will also build in the province.
The P69.3-billion MRT 7 project, which will have 14 stations from North Ave. in Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, is being built by SMC Mass Rail Transit 7 Inc. under SMC’s infrastructure subsidiary San Miguel Holdings Inc.
San Miguel tapped Hyundai Rotem and EEI consortium to build the railway which will have stations in North Ave., Quezon Memorial Circle, University Avenue, Tandang Sora, Don Antonio, Batasan, Manggahan, Doña Carmen, Regalado, Mindanao Avenue, Quirino, Sacred Heart, Tala and San Jose del Monte.
The Department of Transportation last week said the 22-kilometer MRT Line 7 project was 49.15-percent into completion as of October 2019. The agency expects MRT 7 to start partial operations by 2021.
The MRT-7’s 20-hectare depot started to take shape after the writs of possession issued by Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 92 and 98 in favor of DOTr and concessionaire SMC Mass Rail Transit 7 Inc. were successfully enforced by sheriffs of the two courts.
Works on the depot formally started on Nov. 26.
The DOTr and SMRT7 identified the new depot site along Quirino Highway in Barangay Lagro, Quezon City, which was found optimal for right-of-way implementability, asset constructibility, capital expenditure and operational expense efficiency and operational reliability and maintainability.
Once completed by 2021, the 22-kilometer rail line will reduce travel time between Quezon City and San Jose del Monte City from two to three hours to only 35 minutes.
San Miguel also proposed to build a new international airport in Bulakan, Bulacan as the new gateway of Luzon.
