DOTC picks Tutuban as common station for North-South rail project

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has identified Tutuban Center as the transfer station for passengers of the proposed P171-billion North - South rail project (NSRP) and the west extension of the Light Rail Transit line 2 (LRT-2) all the way to port area in Manila.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Prime Orion Philippines Inc. said its subsidiary Tutuban Properties Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the DOTC and the state-run Philippine National Railways (PNR) yesterday.

Tutuban Properties is the developer and operator of the Tutuban Center in Divisoria.

Under the pact, the parties involved agreed to cooperate in the finalization and completion of the plans of the NSRP within a period of six months.

Prime Orion chief executive officer Yuen Po Seng earlier said the company is looking at increasing the leasable space at the Tutuban Center to about 100,000 square meters over the next two to three years from the current 60,000 square meters.

The DOTC is pursuing the 653-kilometer NSRP under the public private partnership (PPP) program. It covers an elevated portion from Malolos in Bulacan to Tutuban and the south line from Tutuban all the way to Legazpi City in Albay.

The NSRP transfer station would be located at Tutuban Center.

The DOTC is also planning the west extension of LRT-2 all the way to the port of Manila from the current end in Recto.

Tutuban Center would have a station connecting both the NSRP and the LRT-2.

“This will facilitate the transfer of passengers from the NSRP to the LRT-2 and vice versa,” Prime Orion told the Exchange.

The DOTC is also bidding out a contract for the operation and maintenance of LRT-2 that would cover the proposed P9.7-billion extension project to Masinag in Cainta, Rizal from Santolan in Pasig City as well as the proposed extension all the way to the port area in Manila.

The agency has awarded a P2.27-billion contract to DMCI for the construction of a viaduct further extending the LRT-2 by 4.14 kilometers.

It has also prequalified four groups for the O&M PPP contract for LRT-2. These include the Aboitiz – SMRT Transport Solutions consortium; DM Consunji Inc. – Tokyo Metro Co. Ltd. consortium; Light Rail Manila Holdings 2 Inc. consortium of conglomerate Ayala Corp. and infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC); and diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. – Korea Railroad Corp. consortium.

Prime Orion said initial sturdies showed that the interconnection is expected to bring in additional 400,000 foot traffic per day to Tutuban Center’s area.