MoBUILDlity 2022: Synergized, Smart, Sustainable

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) and its subsidiary

 MANILA, Philippines — MPT Mobility held a Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue entitled, “MoBUILDlity 2022: Synergized, Smart, Sustainable” last Oct. 21, 2022.

The event gathered infrastructure leaders, select legislative representatives, local government unit officials, and business partners in building smart urban mobility (SUM) infrastructure.

Standing at the forefront of business transformation in response to the changing demand of the customers, MPTC is ready to meet the challenge of developing synergized, smart, and sustainable mobility solutions.

MPTC President and CEO Rodrigo Franco welcomed around 200 guests and spoke about how MPTC transformed its business and itself to serve the growing needs of the customers for a smart, sustainable, and synergized urban mobility infrastructure.

He enunciated that any significant citywide technology initiative and implementation takes vision, investment, careful planning, and cooperation to ensure adoption and success.

And there is demand from the public for institutions to provide a better quality of life as they move about and around the metro. It is this customer demand that the private sector—where MPTC belongs—responds to.

This led the MPTC business to shift from being a tollways-centric business to becoming a mobility and infrastructure and solutions provider. MPTC is geared towards implementing smart and integrated approaches and is enjoining the local governments and the legislative sectors to make SUM happen in the Philippines.

Former Chief Engineer of Singapore’s Land Transport Authority, Dr. Chin Kian Keong, shared how intelligent mobility forged Singapore into the ideal smart city and how Singapore overcame key challenges to achieve quality-of-life objectives.

He talked about how Singapore managed congestion and was able to improve customer experience despite of high travel demand, land constraints, manpower issues, and aging population.

Aside from implementing integrated transport systems with the aid of data and technology, Singapore encouraged its people to use public transportation and shift to active mobility for transport such as walking and cycling for short distances to decrease dependence on private transport- ensuring its constituent’s safe journeys and maintaining the quality of life.

He said we should look at it from the whole spectrum of transport. That means from the need to provide infrastructure, good service, public transport, bus network, human management – all these have to work hand-in-hand.

Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista talked about the agency’s plans, projects, and priorities on integrated and intelligent mobility networks and public transportation in the Philippines intended to provide the masses with safe, affordable, convenient, and accessible transportation.

As per Bautista, to equip and enable the entire transportation sector for mobility needs equal attention from aviation and airports, maritime, roads, and railways, and the agency on top of it to provide people’s evolving mobility requirements.

Management Association of the Philippines President Rogelio “Babes” Singson joined the panel discussion at the MPTC Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue pressing on utilizing intelligent and integrated system solutions, including infrastructure, to support smart urban mobility in sustaining the country’s economic recovery.

McKinsey & Company Acting Managing Director Jon Canto discussed the impact of smart mobility strategies on quality of life.

ARUP Manila Transport Planning Lead Lize de Beer shared her expertise and knowledge in understanding the challenges of implementing the smart mobility scheme in the country and how these can be addressed by collaboration among local government units (LGUs), the private sector, and the public.

Chief for National Quality and Competitiveness Division of the Department of Trade and Industry, Ma. Sheryl Santos joined the panel discussion together with ARUP Manila Transport Planning Lead Lize de Beer, and McKinsey & Company Acting Managing Director Jon Canto.