Cebu City gets French aid for BRT study

CEBU, Philippines - The French Development Agency has granted Cebu City USD150,000 or at least P6 million for two studies that shall complement the Bus Rapid Transit Project.

Of the amount, USD100,000 is for a traffic management study for Cebu City and the rest or USD50,000 will go to a study on air quality as requested by the city.

AFD Philippines Country Director Luc Le Cabellec wrote Mayor Michael Rama last month confirming the grant of a total of USD200,000 from AFD’s own operating budget.

Only USD150,000 will go to Cebu City while the rest is appropriated for a capacity-building program for the National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS).

The NCTS study aims to “build capacity within the NCTS or urban transport related Green House Gases (GHG) accounting and monitoring.”

This is to support the Department of Transportation and Communications and Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the future implementation of urban transport projects.

The study on air quality is a separate study that basically aims to quantify the health benefits of the Cebu BRT project. Subsequently, the result shall be used to strengthen the air quality management in Cebu City.

“As of now, the feasibility study and other World Bank funded studies have focused benefits from the project on GHG emission reductions, travel-time and operating cost savings but the BRT project will also result in air quality improvements leading to potential public health impacts,” Le Cabellec said.

“This assignment will also define an air quality monitoring action plan for the city and promote public participation and information campaigns,” Le Cabellec added.

AFD assures that the air quality study will not be a duplication of the BRT project feasibility study funded by the Clean Technology Fund.

The AFD study shall aid the other studies by supporting an estimate of the air quality and health co-benefits expected to result from the construction of BRT line and replacement of jeepneys.

The study will estimate current emissions along the proposed BRT corridor based on traffic counts, typical engine and operating characteristics of vehicles traversing the corridor.

It will also estimate the change in primary and secondary particulate emissions from the time without BRT and the time that BRT has been implemented. — (FREEMAN)