THE Department of of Transportation (DOTr) assured on Tuesday that Cebu’s bus rapid transit (BRT) project will be implemented and operational by 2021.
The DOTr statement came amid calls from the National Economic Development Authority Investment Coordination Committee (Neda-ICC) for the DOTr to fast-track the project.
The NEDA-ICC made the call after approving several big-ticket projects for Mindanao last week.
“We commit to fastrack its implementation. We are now in the process of engaging a TSC (Technical Service Consultant) to assist us in resolving issues in the corridor,” said DOTr.
But this time, it will form part of DOTr’s proposed Metro Cebu Intermodal and Integrated Transport System (MCIITS), which will compose of a point-to-point (P2P) bus system, a monorail system, and a Light Rail Transit (LRT).
“(We will also) develop an efficient catch up plan to make sure that the project will be finished in 2021,” the DOTr added.
Neda-ICC first approved the P17-billion project in August 2017 as a sole, mass transit system in Cebu City.
They again gave the green light for the project to proceed last July but this time it would be part of the MCIITS.
For his part, Cebu City Administrator Nigel Paul Villarete said that the city government was still hopeful that the DOTr would finally proceed with the BRT project.
“We remain confident the DOTr will do its mandate to provide inclusive accessibility and mobility, and sustainable transportation for the people of Cebu, but it remains to be seen,” said Villarete.
Until recently, the DOTr, which is the lead implementing agency of the BRT, had been hesitating to proceed with the project.
In a letter sent to the Neda-ICC last April 11, they expressed their intentions to scrap it.
Raising several points, including narrow roads, the DOTr stated that implementing the BRT will now be irrelevant.