Cavite extension of LRT-1 to begin construction next month

THE construction of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) extension to Cavite is scheduled to begin next month, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said.
“We are starting in April the actual construction of LRT-1 Cavite Extension connecting Baclaran and Bacoor, Cavite,” the DoTr said in a statement on Monday.
It said the target is to complete the project by the fourth quarter of 2021. Once the extension is up and running, passenger traffic on LRT-1 is expected to increase to 800,000 from the current 300,000.
The construction of the 11.7-kilometer LRT-1 Cavite extension is part of the government’s concession agreement with Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), which has been operating the train line since September 2015.
LRMC is a joint venture of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd. Aside from the Cavite extension, its P65-billion, 32-year agreement with the government also involves the rehabilitation of the 21-kilometer LRT-1 line from Roosevelt, Quezon City to Baclaran, Parañaque City.
The Cavite extension will cover eight new stations from Baclaran: Redemptorist, NAIA Avenue, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote and Niog.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in ����ý through the Philippine Star Group. — Denise A. Valdez