DOTr expects Philippines' first cable-car system to start running in 2028

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is eyeing to make the country's first cable car service operational in 2028, Undersecretary Timothy John Batad said.

At a forum on the government's infrastructure plans on Thursday, Batad shared that the government plans to build the cable car system to connect Taytay to Antipolo City in Rizal. 

Specifically, the DOTr plans to have the cable car ferry passengers from the planned Taytay station in the proposed Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4) to Antipolo City. 

“We know that Antipolo is very dense, and has lots of residents and economic activity, so it will be complementary to connect MRT-4 to Antipolo City,” Batan said.

The DOTr official said a feasibility study will be launched mid-2025 to identify the project cost, the number of passengers the cable car system can service, and other details of the project.

Batan added that once the feasibility study is completed, bidding for the project could start by the end of 2025 to early 2026.

“We are being told that it can have a construction period of two years. So, if we are able to award in 2026, then potentially it may be possible in 2028,” he said.

Meanwhile, the proposed MRT-4 is estimated to cover 12.7 kilometers from Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) Ortigas Ave. junction to Taytay, Rizal.

The target construction of MRT-4 was initially set for the second quarter of 2024.

But the timeline for the project has changed after the government pushed back the signing of the loans for the construction of the railway from 2023 to 2024, according to a Philippine STAR report in October 2023.

The administration of Rodrigo Duterte, the predecessor of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., had planned to start a cable car system in Metro Manila, Boracay and Baguio as early as 2016. The plan would be based on a P27-million feasibility study the French government funded, but the project fell through.