Baguio evaluating unsolicited proposals for city’s monorail
THE Baguio City government is evaluating two unsolicited proposals for a monorail system project aimed at reducing traffic congestion and environmental impact, its mayor said.
“Affirmative,” Baguio City Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong told BusinessWorld in a phone message last week when asked if the planned monorail project would push through.
“We are in the process of evaluating two unsolicited proposals — Metro Global with BYD (Build Your Dreams) and SYSTRA Philippines,” he added.
Metro Global Holdings Corp. is a listed company involved in the Metro Manila Rail Transit Project, while BYD is a major Chinese automaker based in Shenzhen, China.
SYSTRA Philippines, Inc. is a transportation system and infrastructure consulting and design firm based in Pasig City.
To recall, Metro Global executed a memorandum of understanding with Baguio City in September 2021 for the purpose of conducting a feasibility study for the development of an intelligent public transport system that offers access to multiple transport options, including monorail, trolleybus, electric bus, and similar electricity-fed transport.
The plan is a “sustainable long-term strategy to urban mass transport management for Baguio City by easing traffic congestion, improving traffic management, minimizing environmental impact, and increasing benefits of transportation to the public in general,” Metro Global said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
Baguio City’s Mr. Magalong signed an executive order in May establishing a technical working group that will facilitate the rollout of the low-carbon urban transport system project of the United Nations Development Programme and the Department of Transportation.
The project involves creating a “sustainable smart urban transport masterplan that will give the proper direction of the city in reducing traffic congestion and improving mobility, thereby improving the air quality in the city,” the order reads. — Arjay L. Balinbin
