THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) recommended to cancel the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, saying Cebu City’s roads are so narrow that such a system would be inefficient here.
In a letter to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez last April 11, DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade and Presidential Adviser for the Visayas Michael Dino assured that the government will come up with “a replacement project superior to the BRT,” if its cancellation is confirmed.
That’s now up to the National Economic and Development Authority’s Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC).
Last April 4, President Rodrigo Duterte asked the Cabinet secretary to submit recommendations on the Cebu BRT.
In their letter, Tugade and Dino pointed out that delays in the BRT project have led to “unnecessary administrative costs” amounting to P14.48 million in commitment fees and P2.95 million in service fees.
How delayed is it? As of March 31 this year, the Detailed Engineering Design was 60.82 percent complete, when it was supposed to have been finished at the end of 2017, the two officials pointed out. The project also lacks at least seven consultants.
Out of P1.09 billion transferred to the Cebu City Government by DOTr to acquire road right-of-way, only P460 million was spent as of the end of last year.
Too many vehicles, too narrow roads
A DOTr task force who reviewed the Cebu BRT also observed that since the feasibility study was done in 2014, the number of vehicles in the city has also increased dramatically, by at least 21 percent from 2013 to 2017.
If the BRT pushes through, it would be “forced to operate” on the same lanes as other modes of transportation, which would make it inefficient, Tugade and Dino said in the letter.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña again warned that the country would be defaulting on a multilateral agreement if the Cebu BRT does get cancelled.
“Tugade wants to replace the BRT with a ghost project. A ghost project is always better, but it’s a bird in the sky, so we let go of a bird at hand. The Philippines will be reneging on a multilateral agreement,” he said in a text message. “We will see.”
But in his letter, Secretary Tugade quoted the DOTr legal and procurement offices as assuring him that “there is neither prohibition nor any legal impediment” in stopping the Cebu BRT.
The loan agreement with Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency or AFD) also allows the Philippine Government, through the finance department, to withdraw from the project.
In a separate interview, Cebu City Administrator Nigel Paul Villarete said scrapping the BRT project would set back plans to improve mobility in the city by 10 to 15 years, the average gestation period for a mass transport project.
“Cebu City never received any mass transport project from Manila in the past. After years of painstaking project development of all stakeholders, DOTr is ready to start construction this year, (now) they want all the work destroyed. And they will look for a replacement. These projects take 10 to 15 years from start of study to start of operations. All previous projects in Metro Manila took that long, except the one during the dictatorship. Do they want the Cebuanos to suffer lack of mobility for the next 10 years?” he said.
Villarete pointed out the Cebu BRT has an economic internal rate of return of 53 percent, reportedly the highest NEDA has ever confirmed of any urban public transport project in the country.
Approvals
Like the mayor, Villarete, who was once the BRT project development officer, said the NEDA-ICC will be breaking international loan agreements if it scraps the project.
The World Bank approved in September 2014 a US$141-million financial package for the project, consisting of a $116-million loan from the WB and $25-million loan from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).
The AFD also extended in February 2015 a $57-million loan for the project. A pre-feasibility study for the Cebu City BRT project was undertaken by the Public–Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility while the feasibility study was undertaken by the WB.
Approvals have been secured from the ICC Technical Board, ICC Cabinet Committee, and the NEDA Board. DOTr contracted out the detailed engineering studies in 2015. (EOB/MVI of SunStar Philippines)