The Department of Transportation said Wednesday the P65-billion LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project is more than halfway to completion.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the project already had a 57-percent overall progress rate as of June 30. Upon completion, the project will reduce travel time between Baclaran and Bacoor, Cavite from one hour and 10 minutes to 25 minutes and increase passenger capacity of the LRT Line 1 from 500,000 to 800,000 daily.
“In addition, we were able to generate more than 1,600 jobs during its construction phase, and we expect more job opportunities for the Filipino people once it becomes operational,” he said.
The DOTR and Light Rail Manila Corp., the private concessionaire of LRT Line 1, were originally expecting the partial operations of the project to start before the end of 2021.
Phase 1 covers 7 kilometers of the 11-km. LRT-1 Cavite Extension, including the Redemptorist Station, MIA Station, Asiaworld Station, Ninoy Aquino Station and Dr. Santos Station. The remaining stations between Las Piñas and Niog are scheduled to become fully-operational by 2022.
LRMC won the bidding for the 11.7-km. Cavite extension project and took over the operation of LRT Line 1 on Sept. 12, 2015. LRT Line 1 runs from Baclaran in Pasay City to Munoz in Quezon City.
The DOTR earlier said the government would spend more than P700 billion this year until 2025 to build more mass railway projects in Luzon and Mindanao.
The programmed capital expenditure for 11 railways projects would amount to P90.75 billion this year, P278.27 billion in 2022, P222.74 billion in 2023, P104.10 billion in 2024, and P45.47 billion in 2025.
Besides LRT Line 1, the other railway projects of the government are LRT2 East Extension, LRT2 West Extension, MRT 3 Rehabilitation, MRT 4 Project, Metro Manila Subway, Common Station, North-South Commuter Railway, Subic-Clark Railway, PNR South Long Haul Project and the Mindanao Railway Project.
