Monorail study for Cebu City to start in June

CEBU, Philippines - A Manila-based transport consortium is set to conduct next month a business case study for the implementation of a monorail system in Cebu City.  This development came after the City Council authorized Mayor Tomas Osmeña to enter into an agreement with the management of the Philtram Transportation Consortium Inc. (PTCI).

“This study aims to determine whether or not the monorail system is feasible in Cebu City. If it is viable, it will help improve the city’s traffic problem and will complement with the Bus Rapid Transit,” said Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr. who penned the resolution approved by the council Tuesday.

There is no definite date for the signing of the agreement, though.  Under the MOU, the study will include the analyses of present or future trip generation/distribution; of probable alignments; of ridership levels and fares; of preliminary design; of related cost estimates; of project viability assessment; of formulation of implementation plans; and of project financing, among others.

During the deliberation, Councilors Raymond Alvin Garcia and Jose Daluz III wanted to delete Section 2.1, which states the city government will be assigning personnel as part of the technical working group of the study.

Garcia said the city should not be wasting funds to assist a company that will conduct the study since the project’s ownership will not belong to the city government.

“They can ask for documents because it’s public document. We can assist them with that, but not assigning personnel,” he said.

Daluz also shared Garcia’s statement, saying “It’s a waste of public funds and I believe it’s disadvantageous to the part of the city.”

He believed that the contract is “one-sided,” favoring the Manila-based company as the contract can be terminated anytime by PTCI.  He said the City Council should safeguard the interest of the city government.

Gabuya, however, insisted that PTCI will only conduct a study for Cebu City. If the company will not proceed with the study, he said, it will not be used by other local government units.

After over 30 minutes of discussion, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, the presiding officer, asked for a five-minute recess.

Upon resumption, Gabuya agreed to delete the provision assigning personnel to PTCI. But he said the provision to assist the PTCI should be retained.

PTCI sought the cooperation of the city to establish a project identification and preparation framework that will govern the conduct of any required public transportation and/or urban rail-based or bus-based transit study for the city. (FREEMAN)