CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia wants the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to pay for the province-owned lots that will be covered by the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project.
Garcia made the announcement during her meeting with the DOTr engineers tasked to implement the project in Cebu City, on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023.
According to Sugbo News, Capitol’s social media arm, engineer Norvin Imbong presented to the governor the layout of Phase 1 of the project, which is set to break ground on Monday, Feb. 27.
The total project cost is P17 billion, of which P1 billion goes to Phase 1.
The first phase starts at the Capitol and passes through Osmeña Boulevard and then to the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) on N. Bacalso Avenue.
The DOTr awarded Chinese firm Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Ltd. the contract for the first phase of the BRT project last November.
The governor claimed that the project will traverse some of the lots owned by the province.
Thus, the Capitol sought “just compensation” from the DOTr because each bus station will occupy an area of 160 square meters, with drainage systems on both sides of the sidewalk.
“We do not want to hamper this project, but you have to accept that the Capitol deserves just compensation,” Garcia said.
The DOTr representatives said they would raise the governor’s concerns at their board meeting on Friday, Feb. 24.
On Thursday, Feb. 23, the governor told reporters that a technical working group composed of representatives of the Capitol and the DOTr would be formed to determine the amount of compensation due the Capitol.
The CBRT will stretch from Barangay Bulacao in the south to Talamban in the north.
Phase 2 of the BRT is composed of the routes from the South Road Properties (SRP) to the CSBT and another route from Capitol to the Cebu IT Park in Barangay Lahug.
Phase 3 will include the routes from Talisay City to Barangay Mambaling, Talisay City to SRP, and Cebu IT Park to Barangay Talamban.
Garcia suggested that in order to properly manage the BRT operation, the government could collaborate with private businesses, just like in the case of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, which was redeveloped and managed by private firms.
Arriving in Cebu
Interviewed later in the day, Imbong, project manager of the CBRT, told SunStar Cebu that officials of the DOTr, which is implementing the mass transit project that will cover the south to the north district of Cebu City, will arrive in Cebu Friday, so he will inform them about Garcia’s demand for compensation.
Imbong said the project will occupy a portion of Capitol’s property, particularly on Osmeña Boulevard from the Cebu Provincial Capitol to the Fuente Osmeña Circle.
Imbong said Monday’s ceremonial groundbreaking will be attended by Cebu City officials led by Mayor Michael Rama and Vice Mayor Raymond Garcia.
Rama has said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will attend as well, so that the construction of the long-overdue multibillion-peso mass transport project can formally start.
The CBRT received the green light from the National Economic and Development Authority, as well as funding, in 2014 yet. It already incurred P29.48 million in cumulative loan commitment fees from 2015 to 2019 for the late implementation of the project.
Last month, the Cebu Provincial Government also asserted its ownership of lots situated along the sidewalk of Osmeña Boulevard, advising utility firms like Visayan Electric, Metropolitan Cebu Water District, and telecommunication firms of its plan to charge them rent for encroaching on the Capitol properties. (ANV, TPT, PAC)