LRMC Inks PhP24B Loan Facility, EPC for LRT 1 Cavite Extension
Makati—(PHStocks)—Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), a joint venture company of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s (PSE: MPI) Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. (MPLRC), Ayala Corp.’s (PSE: AC) AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. (AC Infra), and the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte Ltd (MIHPL), announced the simultaneous signing on 11 February 2016 of a PhP24 billion loan facility and the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement for LRT 1 Cavite Extension, one of the country’s largest private-public partnership projects.
“These milestone agreements give us significant headway towards the construction and commissioning of the much-awaited Cavite Extension which will benefit an additional 300,000 passengers from four big cities in southern Manila,” LRMC president and CEO Jesus P. Francisco said.
LRMC signed the 15-year Omnibus Loan and Security Agreement (OLSA) with Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank, PSE: MBT), Security Bank Corp. (PSE: SECB) and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC, PSE: RCB), with PhP15.3 billion of the total loan amount allocated for the Cavite Extension and PhP8.7 billion for the rehabilitation of the existing LRT 1 system.
Francisco said that LRMC and its EPC contractors Bouyges Travaux Publics and Alstom Transport are set to commence the construction of the 11.7 kilometer Cavite Extension once right of way is delivered by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA). “Hopefully by the second half of this year,” he added.
Targeted for completion in about four years after the delivery of right of way, the 11.7 kilometer Cavite Extension will connect into the Existing System immediately south of the Baclaran Station and run in a generally southerly direction to Niyog, Cavite. It will consist of elevated guideways throughout the majority of the alignment, except for the guideway section at Zapote which will be located at grade and consisting of the Satellite Depot and New Station.
Eight new stations will be provided with three intermodal facilities across Pasay City, Paranaque City, Las Pinas City and Cavite. The new stations are Aseana, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Pinas, Zapote and Niyog. The intermodal facilities shall be located at Dr. Santos, Zapote, and Niyog.
The commercial speed of the Cavite Extension will be 60km/h. The horizontal alignment shall be designed for a train speed of 80km/h for the mainline track; 6okm/h through Stations; and 30km/h for secondary and Depot tracks.
The new stations will be accessible to and from nearby community facilities such as shops, schools, stadium, and parks, and be located to suit passenger flow routes from residential areas.
Pedestrian access to all new stations will be direct, safe and easy. Details such as lighting to distinguish access points, pedestrian cross striping and curb cuts for handicapped access will be provided.
Bouygues Travaux Publics, which will provide the railway infrastructure for the Cavite Extension, is known globally for complex projects involving tunnels, engineering structures and road, port and rail infrastructure, most recent of which were the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge, the Port of Miami Tunnel and the Nîmes-Montpellier rail bypass in France.
Alstom Transport, on the other hand, will undertake the railway systems work, including track work, power supply, train control and signaling system, communications systems and the construction of the Operations Control System to provide seamless operation between the Existing System and the Cavite Extension.
