3 weeks ago
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Elijah Felice Rosales - The Philippine Star
February 24, 2025 | 12:00am
The PPA is submitting a proposal, called the Pasig River Intermodal Transportation Project, to rehabilitate the ferry system along Pasig River.
STAR / Edd Gumban, file
MANILA, Philippines — Commuters could get another mode of transport when traveling around Metro Manila, as the Philippine Ports Authority pushes to improve the Pasig River Ferry System through an P800-million project.
The PPA is submitting a proposal, called the Pasig River Intermodal Transportation Project, to rehabilitate the ferry system along Pasig River.
PPA general manager Jay Santiago told The STAR his agency is ready to spend as much as P800 million every year for the deployment of watercraft, development of stations and dredging of the river.
The project takes inspiration from the Venetian public waterbuses known as Vaporetto, as it will offer ferry service in 18 terminals along the Pasig River. The project will cut the travel time from Escolta to Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City to just 30 minutes, from three hours currently.
If the PPA proposal is pursued, commuters will be provided with at least two kinds of ferry ride: a regular service that goes from station to station, and water taxis that can be booked to an exact destination. At the minimum, PPA will require all ferries to have an air conditioner.
Santiago said the PPA would deploy in every terminal a bus that would transfer passengers from the ferry to the nearest land transit option.
For instance, commuters dropping off at the Plaza Mexico Ferry Terminal can ride the shuttle to Kalaw Avenue, where public utility vehicles are available and a nearby station of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 is located.
Santiago said the PPA can take authority over the Pasig River Ferry Service anytime, promising that if approval is given in March, ferries will be sailing by December.
“If the President says PPA can take over immediately within the year, we can start implementing the rehabilitation of the Pasig River. We will dedicate sufficient investments in it, and we see that it could cost a minimum of P700 million to P800 million a year,” Santiago said.
The regulator of domestic ports is confident it can handle the financial burden of the project, as it is one of the most financially-viable among state-owned firms. The PPA’s net income grew by 26 percent to P7.41 billion last year, from P5.88 billion in 2023.
Under the PPA’s plan, it will work with the Maritime Industry Authority in issuing franchises to private operators who would deploy watercraft in the Pasig River.
Currently, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority offers the Pasig River Ferry Service for free, benefiting 172,187 commuters from January to October 2024.
However, the free ferry ride is met with frequent disruptions, making it unreliable especially for commuters rushing to get to work or school.
Under the previous leadership, the DOTr was planning to overhaul the Pasig River Ferry Service and turn it into the Manila Bay-Pasig River-Laguna Lake (MAPALLA) Ferry System. The DOTr was eyeing to privatize the project through a public-private partnership (PPP) deal.
Infrawatch PH convenor Terry Ridon said the government has to convince the private sector first that MAPALLA has commercial viability. This means the government has to build up ridership in the ferry before turning it over to a private group.
“The DOTr should pursue this regardless of the private sector’s interest, but it should undertake market sounding activities to determine whether the commercial viability exists to allow for PPP mode,” Ridon told The STAR.
Move as One Coalition co-convenor Robert Siy Jr. believes the Pasig River Ferry Service can be privatized as long as the concession would allow the operator to recoup investments.
“The concessionaire should be allowed to recover its costs and make reasonable profit [because] this is how high-quality public transport is delivered in the best cities,” Siy told The STAR.
