PARTIES concerned with the construction of the proposed P1.4-billion station that will connect three overhead train systems in Metro Manila have “agreed in principle” to a compromise deal.
The catch here is that the agreement among SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Land Inc., Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), San Miguel Corp., and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) entails the construction of two stations instead of one.
“I think we’ve already reached an agreement with all parties. We haven’t written it yet. In principle, we have agreed to undertake the two-station approach,” Transportation Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo M. Lotilla said.
He was referring to a proposal to build a station near SM North Edsa and another near TriNoma Mall in Quezon City.
This, despite the repeated statements of the government that building a station near the Ayala-owned mall will be environmentally and economically more efficient than constructing one near SM.
“We are drafting the written agreement this week. Hopefully, we can all sign the compromise agreement within the same period,” Lotilla said. “It will be beneficial for everyone.”
None of the company representatives involved in this issue replied to the BusinessMirror’s queries as of press time.
At the heart of this legal tussle is the feud between Ayala Land and SM Prime over the location of the common station, which is seen to boost foot traffic along the malls owned by the two companies. The common alignment, which aims to link the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1, Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3, and MRT Line 7, has been in limbo ever since the transport agency reviewed the project’s technical and financial components years back.
This led to the change of the station’s location, which was initially set to be near SM North Edsa, earning the ire of the group of the country’s largest mall operator, which paid an initial P200 million for the naming rights of the station.
SM Prime then brought its battle to the Supreme Court, which issued a stay order against the DOTC and the Light Rail Transit Authority in 2014, enjoining them to stop the transfer of the common alignment’s location. Earlier, MPIC urged all the parties involved in the legal fiasco on the common station to discuss and settle the issue.
MPIC is the lead proponent in Light Rail Manila Corp., the operator of the LRT Line 1, along with partners Ayala Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Inc.
The partners won the contract to extend Southeast Asia’s oldest train system all the way to Cavite and operate the railway system for 32 years. The concession agreement also provides the private-sector partner the right to design the common station.
“The compromise agreement will be good for everyone,” Lotilla said.
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3 comments
sa intersection na lang na north/west/eds avenues ang gawing station para masimulan na yan. ang tagal na naming naghihintay dito sa fairview, yun pala these people are facking up the process.
Doon naman talaga eh, isang common station (1,3,7). Eh ang mga hinayupak na Ayala yellow crony gusto doon sa Trinoma, na kung ganun eh kayong galing Fairview eh maglalakad pa ng halos 1 km papunta sa Ayala Uncommon Station. Kahit etong compromise eh wala talagang kwenta, porke KKK sila na papaboran!
Tapos ang mga anti-Ayala “uncommon” station eh maka-SM daw o kaya naman Binay-aran, o haters, o “kayo na lang kaya maging presidente”, “may naitulong ka na ba para sa bayan” o “e di wow”!!!
Who runs the PH Ayala or SM. The Government should have planned for one location and asked companies to bid for it. If Ayala and SM don’t like the location and don’t want to bid then open up construction to foreign firms who are happy to do so. The Philippines will remain a third World country if it continues to be run for the vested interests of a few controlling families.