Officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Department of National Defense (DND), and other uniformed services during the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Metro Manila Subway Project’s (MMSP) Advanced Works Package 2 at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Thursday. DOTr Assistant Secretary Fidel Igmedio Cruz, Jr. said the advanced works package would replicate or improve DND-AFP structures and facilities that will be affected by the construction of MMSP buildings and facilities at Camp Aguinaldo. (Screen capture of DOTr video)
The pre-construction works for the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) at Camp Aguinaldo have officially begun on Thursday through a groundbreaking ceremony.
During the event, Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary Fidel Igmedio Cruz Jr. said the ceremony marked the beginning of the construction of 192 housing units, repair and rehabilitation of Warehouse No. 1 and supply unit, general headquarters and headquarters service command, and construction of the medical gas and manifold vacuum plant housing at Camp Aguinaldo.
These structures and facilities are part of the MMSP’s Advanced Works Package 2 and are meant to replace or improve those affected by Metro Manila Subway in Camp Aguinaldo—where the MMSP’s Katipunan Station will be located.
“This advanced works package will replicate and improve affected DND-AFP structures and facilities with similar specific purposes and functions employing modern design, technology, and materials,” Cruz said.
The project package, he said, was awarded to and will be built by a local contractor, Specified Contractor and Development Incorporated.
“'Yung packages MMSP 102 and 103 are about to complete procurement. That's why ito po 'yung advanced package para ma-clear 'yung right-of-way nung madadaanan ng train (MMSP packages 102 and 103 are about to complete procurement. That’s why this advanced package has commenced so that we can clear the right-of-way for the train service),” Cruz said.
To date, he said the detailed designs for the MMSP are at 60 percent complete while the replication and improvement of affected facilities at the Veterans Memorial Golf Club—where the MMSP’s North Avenue Station will be located—is at 45 percent complete.
In total, he said five DND-AFP properties would be developed to create “convenient access points and multi-modal transport plazas” for five subway stations.
Some stations of the Metro Manila Subway System will rise on government properties, such as Camp Aguinaldo, to ensure that it is accessible to the riding public.
In December last year, DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana signed a right-of-way usage agreement for the MMSP.
The MMSP is a 33.103-kilometer underground rail system traversing Ugong Valenzuela to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 and aims to accommodate up to 370,000 passengers per day by its first year of operation. By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz
Article courtesy of the Philippine News Agency
