Update: SCTEx access to open on Dec. 23

Access to Clark from the SCTEx is seen to improve with the planned opening of the Panday Pira road next week. The full report is available here. More interchanges are scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2009.

Dragonair flies to Manila

The busy Hong Kong-Manila route has a new player in Dragonair. Read this report from the Inquirer.

Taxi tip suspended

Following the global drop in oil prices, the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) announced today that the cost of public transportation for jeepneys and taxis has been reduced. This means that the minimum fare for a jeepney ride is back to P7.50, while the P10.00 on top of the meter for taxi rides was removed as well. However, given the unpredictable nature of oil prices, the LTFRB stated that the fare reductions, particularly the removal of the P10.00 additional fare, will be for a period of 3 months only.

You may read the full news article here.

Costs of rail projects increase

Further to yesterday's news regarding the additional funds needed for the Northrail, Business Mirror reports today that other rail-based projects have also jacked up their costs. Normally, the opposition would see this as an additional burden to the people which clearly smacks of corruption. The government and the proponents of the project would naturally deny anything irregular with the need for additional funds, but to dismiss the possibility of corruption altogether would be far from realistic.

Nevertheless, the plans look beautiful on paper, and these projects should be railroaded, not necessarily at all costs though, if that means money is no object.

$280M more sought for Phase 1 of Northrail due to design change

The North Luzon Railways Corp. (NLRC) is requesting for an additional $280 million for the Northrail Phase 1 project due to a change in its project design.

The proposal was recently submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority’s (Neda) Infrastructure Committee (InfraCom), the interagency committee in charge of advising President Arroyo on infrastructure development, including railways, highways and airports.

Neda said the revision in its project design involved changing the narrow-gauge tracks, which were initially approved by the Neda Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) to sturdier standard or double-gauge tracks.

Neda Deputy Director General Rolando Tungpalan said the NLRC cost-increase proposal will have to go through an evaluation of the InfraCom and then go through the ICC process starting with the ICC Technical Board until the proposal obtains Neda Board approval.

However, Tungpalan said, in line with the plans of the government to speed up all infrastructure projects and programs, the Neda will also hasten its evaluation and approval of the NLRC’s request for additional funding.

The additional cost will be added to the initially approved cost of $503 million.

The China Export Import Bank will finance $421 million of the total project cost, while the remaining $82 million will be shouldered by the national government.

Phase 1 Section I of the Northrail project runs from Caloocan to Malolos, Bulacan. The contractor for the project is the China National Machinery and Equipment Group.

The NLRC stated on its web site (www.northrail.com.ph) that it aims to end 2008 with a project accomplishment rate of 61.87 percent, mostly comprised of civil works.

It also aims to acquire additional right-of-way (ROW) and relocate affected utilities by December 2008. The NLRC expects to complete the civil works for the project by August 2009.

Earlier, the Neda said seven infrastructure projects have posted cost overruns of more than P2.27 billion in the first half of 2008.

These projects include the Metro Iligan Regional Infrastructure Development Project, Rural Road Network Development Project III, Central Mindanao Road Project, Urgent Bridge Construction Project for Rural Development, and Iloilo Flood Control II.

Further, the Philippine National Railways (PNR) and Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) submitted cost overrun reports that showed that the Northrail-Southrail Linkage Project Phase I or the commuter- train part of the entire Northrail project will post a cost overrun of P648.12 million and the LRT Line I Capacity Expansion Project Phase II will post a P1.622-billion-worth cost increase.

The reasons include increase in prices of labor, materials and equipment/price adjustment/price escalation, changes in scope or variation orders/supplemental agreements, high bids, value-added tax and other taxes, foreign-exchange movement, increase in consulting-service costs, administrative costs, and increase in ROW or land acquisition and resettlement costs as well as price adjustments.

The 32-kilometer Northrail-Southrail linkage Phase 1 will run from Caloocan to Alabang and service 16 stations along the route. The PNR estimated that the average travel time from end-to-end is 30 to 35 minutes, while 21 new diesel railcars are expected to accommodate 187,000 passengers daily.

Phase 1 will cost $50.42 million, and around 70 percent, or $35 million, will be funded through a concessional loan from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of Korea.

The balance will be in the form of export credit from the Korean Export-Import Bank.

The LRTA said, on the other hand, that the LRT Line I capacity expansion project Phase II will aim to extend its services to an additional 40,000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd) from the already expanded capacity (Phase I) of 27,000 pphpd.

The agency said the project is intended to cope with the present and expected increase in volume of passengers using LRT Line 1 and the additional passenger demand to be generated under an integrated MRT Line 1, 2 and 3 system.

The project costs P11 billion, and is 85-percent financed by the Japan Bank of International Cooperation.

Northrail project needs more funds - GMANews.tv

MANILA, Philippines - Citing change in project design, the North Luzon Railways Corp. has requested to increase the fund allocation for the Northrail Phase 1 project, which will run from Caloocan City to Malolos, Bulacan.

The NLRC has proposed to the Infrastructure Committee of the National Economic and Development Authority for an additional $280 million for the China-funded project from the original budget of $503 million.

The Infracom is in charge of advising the President on infrastructure development including railways, highways, and airports.

NEDA officials said the revision in Northrail's project design involved changing the narrow-gauge tracks which were initially approved by the NEDA Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) to sturdier standard or double-gauge tracks.

Rolando Tungpalan, NEDA deputy director general, said the cost increase proposal will undergo review by the Infracom and then go through ICC process starting with the ICC Technical Board until it gets approval from the NEDA Board, which is chaired by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

However, Tungpalan said that in line with the plans of the government to fasttrack all infrastructure projects and programs, the NEDA will also fasttrack its evaluation and approval of the NLRC's request for additional funding.

Of the original total amount of the project, the China Export Import Bank will finance $421 million of the total project cost while the remaining $82 million will be shouldered by the national government.

The contractor for the project is the China National Machinery and Equipment Group

The NLRC said that it aims to end 2008 with a project accomplishment rate of 61.87 percent, mostly comprised of Civil Works.

It is also seeking to get additional Right-of-Way (ROW) and relocate affected utilities by next month. The NLRC is targeting to complete the civil works for the project by August 2009.

MRT-3 acquisition in peril

BusinessWorld reported today that the government's buyout of the MRT-3 faces possible delays when the Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines expressed doubts about the purchase and sought an exit strategy. The government intends to buyout the MRTC from its build-operate-transfer contract, which is set to expire in 2025.

At a cost ranging between PhP11 and PhP14, the MRT-3 probably has the lowest cost in any urban rail-based mass transport in the whole world. This is unconfirmed, of course, but the possible exaggeration is far more real when one considers the estimated cost per person for a single trip: it is a lot more than PhP60.

When the MRT-3 first operated in 1998, it charged upwards of PhP20 for even the shortest trip. But the government decided to subsidize the costs of its operation: at least PhP45 for each single commuter. 

Although Pedestrian Pinoy has earlier expressed the opinion that public infrastructure should strike a balance between profit and service, to operate a facility, even one that provides great service to the people, at a huge loss of the scale of MRT-3 (imagine an average loss of PhP18,000,000 every day), is not sound policy. As a result, the MRT-3's maintenance has suffered greatly, and the acquisition of new trains has been derailed. Service should be done in a manner that does no further harm, nor gives no further inconvenience, to the public that should benefit, and not suffer.

Striking a balance between service and profit

In an article published in the Inquirer today, it was reported that a small mass of people from Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City, protested the DOTC's decision to reduce the number of stations of the LRT-1's North extension from 4 to 3. Although the 5.71km elevated line originally planned to have stations at Bagong Barrio, Balintawak, Roosevelt, and North Avenue (where it will connect seamlessly with the MRT-3), the DOTC decided to retain only 3. The initial plans were revised apparently because of the high costs of building a station (approximately P800 million), and studies showing that pedestrian traffic is considerably higher in Balintawak, Roosevelt and North Avenue, which will be retained.

The protesting residents of Caloocan City complained that they will not benefit from the LRT's extension because the stations are too far from where they live. However, LRTA administrator Mel Robles defended the revision of the plan saying that "studies show that Roosevelt and Balintawak would have the highest ridership. We are in the business of moving people. Where there is high density, we will go there."

While Pedestrian Pinoy agrees with the LRTA's position that any public infrastructure should be based on careful study, and not on the whims of politicians nor the tug and pull of politics, Mr. Robles's statement that the LRT would build stations only "where it is most profitable" is disconcerting at the least.

Crucial public infrastructure should focus on service, and not profit. This again is one of the problems posed by private investment in public works: companies are really more interested in the business aspect of the project, rather than providing a service to the public. There really should be a balance between making life better for the people, and earning from infrastructure. Surely, profit should not be ignored, since ultimately, in a middle-income country like ours, big projects are sometimes funded by official development assistance from other countries (i.e., debts), or are only possible through the participation of the private sector through various schemes (build-operate-and-transfer, build-own-and-operate, build-lease-and-transfer, etc.). Debts have to be paid and private corporations have to be assured that they will not lose money.

Regardless of what drives the development and construction of public infrastructure, the government should not lose sight of the primary goal: that its decisions and actions should be a service to the people.

The greater good vs. local autonomy

Below is the editorial of today's issue of the Business Mirror, which also reflects the opinion expressed yesterday in the blog.

The MRT Conundrum

MANDALUYONG Mayor Benjamin Abalos Jr. may have scored political points with
his 300,000 constituents when he decided to take on the Metro Rail Transit Corp.
(MRTC). And, he has a valid point in criticizing the national government for
undertaking, in the agreement covering the MRT, to pay the local taxes for a
private consortium, only to say later that it has no intention of doing so.
However, the millions of other residents of the capital region—of which
Mandaluyong is but a tiny slice—are not amused by his move.

MRTC operates the Metro Rail Transit System, popularly known as the MRT,
Metrostar Express or Metrostar, which has a single line, MRT-3 or the Blue Line.
MRTC is a private company operating in partnership with the Department of
Transportation and Communications under a build-lease-transfer (BLT)
agreement.

A judge—from Mandaluyong, naturally—has been persuaded by the mayor’s
argument that MRTC owes his city some P2 billion in real-estate taxes. The levy
pertains to three MRT-3 stations located near the intersections of Ortigas, Shaw
and Boni avenues.

The local authorities of two other cities have sought to dun MRTC for
building train stops in their jurisdictions. The bid of Quezon City to exact
toll on the commuter-train operator has been dismissed, while that of Makati is
still pending. It is only in Mandaluyong—so far—that the attempt by local
officials to get their piece of the pie from a key national infrastructure has
met judicial success.

With MRT-3 passenger volume topping 500,000 on weekdays, Abalos might have
been led to believe that the commuter line’s operators must be raking in
megaprofits. In fact, thanks to complications in the company’s BLT arrangement
with the national government, MRTC is not even able to generate enough revenue
to expand its fleet of coaches. Despite the spike in ridership as a result of
skyrocketing fuel prices in the past few months, the commuter-train line only
manages to continue running because of state-guaranteed earnings.

When first conceived in the early 1990s, the MRT-3 was envisioned to
decongest the perennially heavy traffic on Metro Manila’s main artery, Epifanio
de los Santos Avenue (Edsa). Although Edsa still looks like a long, winding
parking lot far too often, the train has become a welcome alternative to
hundreds of thousands of commuters who need to get from the northeastern part of
Metro Manila to points further south and west of the capital region and vice
versa in a hurry. The MRT-3 passes through not just Mandaluyong, but also Pasay,
Makati, San Juan and Quezon City.

Like its predecessor, the Light Rail Transit 1 that runs from Baclaran to
Monumento, and the newer line stretching from Marikina to C. M. Recto Avenue in
Manila, the MRT-3 is a key component of a grand mass-transport system that Metro
Manilans have been demanding for decades. Work has begun on yet another line
that would connect San Jose del Monte in Bulacan to North Avenue in Quezon City.

It’s hard to imagine the chaos that would ensue if the legal theory that
underpinned the Mandaluyong judge’s decision affirming Mandaluyong City’s power
not only to impose real-estate taxes on the MRT-3, but also to seize the three
stations located in the city were applied to the other commuter-train lines, as
well as to civil works like the North and South Luzon Expressways, Skyway and
the Coastal Road toll way.

Dozens of city, town, provincial and even barangay officials might be tempted
to exercise virtually feudal rights over national infrastructure.

Local executives like Mayor Abalos ought to appreciate projects like the
MRT-3 not as another opportunity to raise funds, but as a boon to their
constituents and, just as important, an incentive to do business in their
localities.

MRT riders face dilemma

While the DOTC, the MRT Corp. and the city government of Mandaluyong lock horns on the issue involving the unpaid realty taxes involving MRT-3's stations in Ortigas, Shaw Boulevard and Boni Avenue, the daily commuter, who already suffers from insufferably long queues and packed trains that sometimes fail, may soon have to bear an even bigger burden.

Business Mirror reported yesterday that MRTC general manager Roberto Lastimoso threatened to cut the MRT-3's trips from North EDSA only to Santolan, and from Taft up until Guadalupe, should Mandaluyong City make good on its bid to wrest ownership of the aforesaid stations, following the writ of possession awarded to the city government by the Regional Trial Court of Mandaluyong City.

The arguments by each of the parties may be summarized as follows:

• MRTC - under our contract with the Republic of the Philippines, represented by the DOTC, we were only going to build the overhead railway and the stations, and the DOTC would operate it and pay us monthly rent.
• DOTC - we're a government agency exempt from paying realty taxes.
• Mandaluyong City Government - we're not taxing the DOTC; we're taxing the MRTC, and all those small firms which own commercial establishments and have put up billboards in the stations within our jurisdiction.

The issues are not new. In previous years, similar mass-based transport facilities have been levied realty taxes by city governments. Parañaque City once sought to hold a public auction to sell the portions of the NAIA in its territory. Of course then Mayor Joey Marquez was shut up by the Supreme Court. Pedestrian Pinoy thinks that the city government of Mandaluyong should take a huge step back and rethink its strategy with regard to taxing the MRT-3 and taking over 3 of its stations. The concessions given to the MRTC were designed to be particularly attractive because the government could not itself undertake to build the railway, despite having the mandate to do so. And the concessions are legal (though they may not necessarily be advantageous, such as the sovereign guarantee). If private corporations involved in the construction and operation of public infrastructure were to be put at the mercy of city "kingdoms" who think themselves outside of the collective efforts at improving the economy, then the people -- who would be left expecting too much from a national government that has little will, and even less resources, to undertake big-ticket projects -- would only have their huge expectations dashed.

Spirit of Manila Airlines

Things must be looking up for Philippine aviation, with the recent buzz generated by Spirit of Manila Airlines, which will soon operate as a low cost carrier (LCC), with planned flights from Clark to Bahrain, Bangkok, Dubai, Hong Kong, Johor Bahru, Kaohsiung, Macau, Osaka, Palau, Taipei, Mumbai, Karachi and the Gulf Region. Their neatly laid-out website is already up and running, although attempts at online reservations have not been successful and many of the links are still obviously under construction. These are exciting times for the flying Filipino.

Click on the image below.

SCTEx: 94 kilometers of bliss

The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) is a 94-kilometer expressway which traverses the provinces of Bataan, Pampanga, and Tarlac, connecting vital growth areas in Central Luzon, including the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales, the Clark Special Economic Zone, and the Central Techno Park in Tarlac City. It is the Philippines' longest tollway, and may be accessed from Manila through a spur road after the Dau Toll Plaza of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx). Presently, it has seven fully operational toll gates:

1. Tipo Interchange, which leads to Subic;
2. Dinalupihan Interchange, which exits at Roman Highway, and provides access to the Olongapo-Gapan Road;
3. Mabalacat Interchange, which allows access to and from the NLEx as well as MacArthur Highway -- it is also currently the best way to access Clark;
4. Dolores Exit;
5. Concepcion Interchange, which provides access to Capas through the Concepcion-Magalang Road;
6. San Miguel Interchange/Luisita Exit; and
7. Tarlac City Interchange.

Four more interchanges/exits are being constructed, and will be operational in 2009. These are the Floridablanca Interchange, Porac Interchange, Clark South Interchange, and Clark North Interchange. A map of the SCTEx may be found at the BCDA's website.

The partial opening of the Subic-Clark segment of the SCTEx dramatically reduced travel time to Subic: what used to be a 4-hour ordeal from Balintawak became a very leisurely 80 minutes.

Much has been said about the pleasures of cruising through the smooth surface of the SCTEx: from the endless views of a green countryside uncluttered by billboards, to amazing feats of engineering that cut through mountains and rose over gorges. The speed limit at the SCTEx, as with any true expressway, is 100kph. But Pedestrian Pinoy, who is a stickler for rules and true to form, was only a passenger, has seen many other vehicles zoom past at incredible velocity. Admittedly though, even at a top speed of slightly over 110kph, neither a pebble nor a bump was felt. But that is neither an invitation nor a temptation to race! Although the stretch of the expressway is frequently patrolled, there have been no apprehensions yet for over-speeding, although accidents as a result of such have taken place (and Pedestrian Pinoy has witnessed this). Also, reports of stoning incidents have been made by some travelers.

The cost per kilometer for a class 1 vehicle is P2.00. So a trip from the Mabalacat Interchange all the way to the Subic Tipo Gate will cost P112.00. This is apart from the toll fee along NLEx, and another P18.00 to enter Subic.

Here are some photos taken during a weekend trip to Subic:

The SCTEx is an amazing piece of infrastructure, a world-class highway which the Filipino richly deserves. It will hopefully inspire further economic growth north of Manila, and should be a standard for all future public works.

MRT-3 to borrow trains from the LRTA

The Business Mirror reported yesterday that the DOTC intends to borrow 40 trains from the LRTA to fill up the shortage of the MRT-3. This option is being explored because according to DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza, the cost of new coaches is prohibitive, and that delivery of newly-purchased trains would take time. 

Now Pedestrian Pinoy is not sufficiently informed of the precise dimensions of the trains of either the LRT-1 or that of the MRT-3, and despite the similarities -- they both run on rails and are powered by overhead cables -- based on experience, the design and size of these carriages are not even remotely alike. Take a look at these photos of the interior of the trains:

Secretary Mendoza admits this when he said that the LRT-1 coaches need to be converted to fit the MRT-3 tracks. "The LRT cars are slightly different from the MRT-3 coaches." Perhaps Secretary Mendoza's knowledge of the our elevated railways isn't so different from that of Pedestrian Pinoy's.

Nevertheless, this proposal begs further questions: will the MRT-3 borrow LRT-1's new coaches? Or the vintage, pre-1990s trains? Also, does the LRT-1 enjoy such a huge surplus of trains that it is actually in a position to lend its cars to the MRT-3? 

Barely a decade into full operation, the MRT-3 has breached its riding capacity. It is the usual story of many of our mass-based transport facilities: the absolute lack of foresight and incredible if not ill-advised cutbacks (whether as a result of extraordinary inflation or illegal kickbacks) have affected design and possibilities for future growth and redevelopment. The options that are now being explored to address the manifold of problems besetting the MRT Corp. are, at the very least, disconcerting. In the end, it is the riding public that suffers as a result of the government's incompetence and the private sector's failures.

Highway to Hell

The recent incident that involved a pre-dawn race between two buses resulting in a smash-up that ignited a Mercedes Benz and which claimed the life of an eye doctor and injured four others has been used, quite effectively, to criticize the "reckless" and "irresponsible" statement made by MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando that there are no speed limits along EDSA.

Today's editorial on the Inquirer quite accurately explains the reality which may have confused Chairman Fernando: that EDSA is a highway in name only. It is, in fact, like any other street in Metro Manila: choked at certain points by intersections and littered by commuting pedestrians.

But the critics of Chairman Fernando, obviously laying the groundwork for the destruction of his presidential dreams, tend to overlook one simple fact: that vehicles, and commuter buses in particular, have been running at dangerous speeds along EDSA in the hours between midnight and sunrise, long before this statement was made. Bus drivers did not take their cue from Chairman Fernando; a thoroughfare with hardly any cars inspires the inner racer in all of us.

Of course, this is not to be tolerated. Pedestrian Pinoy has found himself suddenly religious, and uttering a silent prayer during such odd-hour bus rides along EDSA. During normal hours (say from after dawn till before midnight), the sheer density of vehicles along EDSA itself regulates traffic, that there is just no way any car can travel beyond 60kph. But outside of this window, speed demons should be exorcised. Whether we would find angels in the MMDA, still remains to be seen.

Pedestrian Observations

Welcome to Pedestrian Pinoy's Philippine Infrastructure Blog.

This website will seek to update the reader of ongoing developments as well as relevant issues related to Philippine infrastructure, such as mass-based transportation facilities, architecture and design, public works and thoroughfares, as well as ongoing construction and development.

Not being an engineer, an architect, or an urban planner, Pedestrian Pinoy is not an expert on most of the topics that will be featured. His goal is to share his sidewalk observations on matters which affect not just experts, but everyone.

Readers are also invited to share their views, ideas, knowledge, links, and photos. Unless otherwise indicated, all photos appearing on this blog were taken by Pedestrian Pinoy. Where applicable, intellectual property rights will be given due recognition: sources will be credited and original works will be used only with permission.

While Pedestrian Pinoy believes that infrastructure is a good indication of progress and civilization, it is clearly not the only means of determining how far our nation has gone. This blog is a venue for discussion, and is Pedestrian Pinoy's contribution to helping the Filipino nation.