Villarete: BRT developments to go full speed in May, but project’s full operation pushed to 2022

Nigel Paul Villarete, Cebu City administrator, discusses the updates of the BRT project during a press briefing in Cebu City Hall. |Delta Dyrecka Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The pieces that can move the Cebu City Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system project are falling into place, and the project may start its developments this year. However,  its implementation will most likely be moved to 2022.

Nigel Paul Villarete, Cebu City administrator, gave this update, in a press briefing on Tuesday, March 12, at the Cebu city hall, on the BRT system which would seek to create dedicated lanes for an operating bus system in the city.

Villarete said the Technical Support Consultant (TSC) had moved its office to the Cebu Business Park.

“TSC itself will be based in Cebu. That’s the good news, it means they are gearing up, and that will be full speed ahead, maybe, in May,” said Villarete.

Read more: Villarete: BRT infrastructure’s completion pushed to 2021

The engagement of the TSC is a requirement of the National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC). The TSC’s non-engagement caused the delay of the BRT in 2018.

With the TSC in Cebu, consultations of the various stakeholders will be done more easily and the Detailed Engineering Design (DED) of the entire system can be completed earlier.

“The good news is everything is falling into place. It has been moving since September.  (the) Bad news is the earliest that we can have full operations or at least good operation will be in the middle of 2022,” said Villarete.

The Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) target in 2022 is to complete the first package of the BRT system, which spans from the South Coastal Road to the Natalio Bacalso Avenue to Osmeña Boulevard to Escario Street and all the way to Cebu I.T. Park.

He said the DED would take at least 8 months to complete and without it, construction could not begin.

Securing the buses for operations will also take time pushing back the target for the completion of BRT to 2022, two years from its original completion date in 2020.

In previous statement, Villarete said that the delay caused by the unappointment of consultants required by the NEDA-ICC, moved the completion to 2021.

This time, he said, the delay would be caused by the various changes in the design.

“There is a move to amend the alignment, so the dedicated portion of package one. There has been some changes in the design and the design consultant will have to redo the station design including the bridges will be affected,” said Villarete.

Meanwhile, Villarete said the completion of the BRT in 2020 might not include its extension to Talamban since the DOTr had yet to expropriate the lots that would be needed for the road expansion.

Villarete said that the DOTr had not acquired the right of way in the route to Talamban yet, but the agency would work on it simultaneously while the package one of BRT would be under construction.

“There is a discussion on the possibility of doing a feeder service to Talamban at this time. Meaning there will be, in whatever form, a feeder service from Talamban to IT park,” said Villarete.

This feeder service, whether by minibus or beep, would take the route of Talamban to IT Park and vice versa. Passengers taking this route will have to change buses in IT Park.

Villarete said that although the BRT route to Talamban might still take some time, it would eventually be completed./dbs