Dino says NEDA chief to fast-track monorail

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu's proposed monorail project will now be subjected for evaluation with the National Economic and Development Authority Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) after the Department of Transportation completed the required submissions.

Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino, in a statement, said that during the meeting with NEDA Secretary Ernesto Pernia, the latter expressed being driven to fast-track the project being a Cebuano himself.

The two met last Saturday, January 25, in Manila.

“The documents pertaining to the monorail project have been submitted to NEDA after DOTr completed them,” said Dino.

Dino added that by the second or third week of February, the NEDA-ICC Technical Board is set to review the project.

After the review, it will be submitted to NEDA ICC's Cabinet Committee.

“Secretary Pernia, who also happens to have a Cebuano blood, wants to fast-track Cebu's monorail project, seeing it as an urgent need for Cebuanos,” Dino said.

The monorail project is part of Cebu's Integrated Inter-modal Transport System (IITS), which includes bus rapid transit, point-to-point buses, cable car system, modern jeepneys, bikeways, and urban realm enhancement or walkways among others.

The proposed monorail from an unsolicited proposal will have the capacity of a light rail transit (LRT) and can accommodate 12,000 to 15,000 passenger capacity per direction per hour.

Udenna Infrastructure Corporation and its foreign partner were granted the original proponent status (OPS) for Cebu's monorail last year.

The Cebu monorail project’s cost is pegged at P78.9 billion.

Dino earlier said that the construction of this monorail from Cebu City-Mandaue City-Terminal 2 in Mactan Cebu International Airport (which is Phase 1) would be a very big help in easing Metro Cebu's traffic.

The monorail project also has second and third phases.  JMD (FREEMAN)