President Rodrigo Roa Duterte leads the inauguration of Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) train sets in Quezon City on Thursday afternoon (Dec.16) that will ply from North Avenue in Quezon City to San Jose del Monte in Bulacan. The transportation project was part of the public-private partnership with the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and the Department of Transportation.
The unveiling ceremony was also attended by Senator Bong Go, DOTr Sec. Arthur Tugade, SMC President and COO Ramon Ang, and officials of the Quezon City government led by Mayor Joy Belmonte.
In his speech, President Duterte said that the MRT-7 is expected to be partially operational for the public in the fourth quarter of 2022. He also said that the project confirms the government’s commitment to continue infrastructure projects for the people amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The project is more than 60% complete and we are committed to make it partially [operational] by the fourth quarter of 2022. With a total cost of P77 billion, the MRT was funded by the public and private partnership with the San Miguel Corp. under a build-transfer-and-operate with a concession period of 25 years,” Duterte said.
“The arrival of the trains and the significant progress made on the MRT-7 project confirm this administration’s strong commitment to pursue critical infrastructure projects, even amidst the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic,”
“Let us fulfill our promise and commitment to the entire nation to accomplish sustainable projects that will continuously improve the lives of Filipinos, even beyond my term [as president],” he added.
The President also said that the trains will help ease the transportation of the public, improve people’s health, and contribute to a cleaner environment by minimizing air pollution.
“The MRT project will provide the public with a fast, efficient, convenient, safe, and reliable transportation system that would result [in] the increased productivity of workers and businesses in Metro Manila and its nearby provinces,” Duterte said.
“It is also good to know that this new train system will help minimize air pollution, as it is a greener and more energy efficient means of transportation. It will likewise contribute to a healthier and cleaner environment, thereby improving the reliability of the nation’s capital,” he added.
The MRT-7 is a rapid railway transit line that runs more than 24 kilometers from Quezon City, North Caloocan and ends at San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. The railway project was first proposed in 2001 and officially started its construction in 2017.
It was initially expected to finish in 2019 but due to right-of-way issues in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, the project was realigned and pushed back to 2021.
According to DOTr, six of the 36 train sets of MRT-7 have been delivered to the country and expected to receive the rest of the train sets in 2022. -Report from Mela Lesmoras / CC-rir
