MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines may have to borrow as much as P100 billion now to build the proposed railway between Ortigas and Taytay, Rizal, which is seen to benefit nearly 200,000 commuters daily.
Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan told The STAR the government would seek an increase in the loan amount for the construction of the Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4).
When the MRT-4 was approved in 2019, it was estimated to cost P59.3 billion, but Batan said the project is now expected to require at least P100 billion to cover mainly design changes.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is still gauging the final cost of the MRT-4, but Batan said what is certain is that the project would cost higher. Primarily, the 2019 study for the MRT-4 proposed the construction of a monorail from Ortigas to Taytay, Rizal.
However, Spanish designer IDOM recommended that the monorail plan be scrapped in favor of a metro rail. Batan said the eastern corridor of Mega Manila is becoming heavily congested, and a monorail would fall short in easing travel in the area.
“There is a huge difference in the previous FS (feasibility study) in 2019 because it has a smaller capacity. It was a monorail. When we studied the alignment again, it needs higher capacity, and that is actually one of the biggest drivers in updating the cost,” Batan said.
The annual average daily traffic in Ortigas reached 185,699 in 2021 and only nine percent of this was served by a public mode of transport, according to the DOTr.
Given this, traversing the Ortigas-Taytay corridor takes as long as three hours, which the MRT-4 aims to address by reducing travel time to less than 30 minutes.
Batan said the financiers for the project remain to be the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the loans are set to be signed by the end of this year or early 2026. Afterward, the DOTr will begin seeking out contractors.
“What is happening is we are finalizing the designs, so there are some constraints that we need to design around. The detailed engineering design will be finished by the end of this year or middle of 2026,” Batan said.
The DOTr is committed to securing the loans as soon as possible so that it can already bid out the civil works, but Batan said the designs must be completed first to determine the final cost.
Based on the initial blueprint, the MRT-4 will span 12.7 kilometers crossing Mandaluyong City, Pasig City and Quezon City in Metro Manila, as well as Cainta and Taytay in Rizal.
The stations will be located in EDSA, Meralco, Tiendesitas, Rosario, St. Joseph, Cainta Junction, San Juan, Tikling Junction, Manila East Road and Taytay.
Originally, the project was scheduled for construction between 2024 and 2027, and the railway is supposed to be operational by 2028. However, the DOTr faced delays in deciding on the type of railway needed for the eastern section of the metro.
Rizal is also set to benefit from the ongoing study to further extend the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) to downtown Antipolo. Batan said the DOTr, through the Light Rail Transit Authority, is currently undertaking a feasibility study for the LRT-2 Cogeo Extension Project.
The agency aims to wrap up the study by the end of this year to identify how large of a ridership would be added if the project is pursued.
The study builds on the earlier plan to put up three more stops to the east of the Antipolo Station to serve commuters heading to and coming from the upper areas of Antipolo.
Simultaneously, LRT-2 is being geared up for a P10.12-billion extension to the west of the Recto Station, adding stops in Divisoria, Tutuban and Pier 4.