4 weeks ago
7
Elijah Felice Rosales - The Philippine Star
February 18, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will award the remaining contracts for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) within the first semester, as it is on schedule to top off the initial phase of the project next month.
Transportation Undersecretary Jesus Ferdinand Ortega yesterday said the first package of CBRT is on track to meet its deadline for completion on March 5.
With this, the DOTr has hit the ground running for the procurement of contractors who would be tasked to build the second and third phases of the CBRT.
Since there is an election ban, the agency is focused on wrapping up the selection process until it can proceed to signing a contractor in June. As stated in election rules, the government is barred from pursuing infrastructure projects unless they are included in the exemptions.
“CBRT Package 1 is on track for target completion by March 5. The procurement process for the contractors for the second and third phases is currently underway,” Ortega told The STAR.
“We expect to finalize the selection and have a contractor in place by the second week of June,” he added.
The first package of the CBRT spans 2.38 kilometers from Cebu South Bus Terminal to the Cebu Provincial Capitol via Osmeña Highway.
The package, costing more than P900 million, was awarded to Chinese contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Co. Ltd. in 2022.
The contract involves the construction of a segregated bus lane along four stations: Cebu South Bus Terminal, Cebu Normal University, Fuente Circle and Cebu Provincial Capitol. Likewise, it includes the improvement of 1.15 kilometers in walkway linking the CBRT to the Port of Cebu.
Recently, the contractor for the first package has installed barriers along the route of the CBRT to test the concept of an exclusive bus lane in Visayas’ busiest metro. Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia has ordered their removal later on for safety purposes.
Garcia said the barriers would be reinstalled as soon as the CBRT is finished in March, as buses will need them to protect their lane from private cars.
The CBRT will cost P28.78 billion, to be financed by a loan from the World Bank. The infrastructure will run for 35 kilometers in its entirety.
Once the CBRT is completed, it will feature 17 kilometers in trunk services and 18 kilometers in feeder services, with 22 stations, 62 stops, four terminals and a depot composing its alignment.
The DOTr said the CBRT will move 83 buses in its first year of operations, but this number will go up to 144 by 2038. Further, the agency estimates ridership to reach up to 164,000 daily once fully operational.
Recently, the government has placed more effort in building bus rapid transits (BRT) across the Philippines. Infrastructure builder Megawide Construction Corp. has won the P1.87-billion deal to build the first BRT in Cavite.
Megawide, together with Maplecrest Group Inc., plans to kick off the construction for the BRT in the first quarter of the year to partially operate it by the third quarter.
BRTs have gained support among mobility advocates for their predictability and reliability, as the infrastructure provides a segregated bus lane that speeds up travel for commuters.
Buses that go through BRTs arrive and leave stops at a particular period, allowing commuters to plan their trips ahead of time.
