RESIDENTS of Lapu-Lapu City have high hopes for an upcoming monorail project in their city as Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a mobility company on May 11, 2023.
Chan signed an MOU with Futran Philippines Inc. to conduct a feasibility study for a monorail in the city at no cost to the government.
The mayor stressed the need for the innovation, saying the City’s economic progress resulted in more development projects leading to increased traffic.
Hope
In an interview with SunStar Cebu on May 17, several Oponganons shared their excitement over the project, anticipating improved transportation, especially during rush hour.
Joy Go, 25, from Barangay Marigondon, said trains would have ample capacity, allowing more passengers to travel together in one trip.
Alaiza Berdin, 27, from Barangay Canjulao, thought it was high time for Lapu-Lapu City to come up with a new mode of transportation that can accommodate more people, emphasizing the city’s growing population.
Joy Lumasag, 29, from Barangay Punta Engaño, and Linda Santos, 34, from Barangay Maribago, hoped the innovation would make transportation easier and more convenient.
As for Julius Carpio, 27, he urged the City Government to see the result of the feasibility study before the project’s implementation to ensure that a monorail is truly ideal for the city’s landscape.
“I agree, but I think it is not feasible because first of all the construction of railways can cause traffic and secondly the train is not applicable because Lapu-Lapu is small and most of the time only jeeps and tricycles can handle the transport in these areas,” said Carpio in Cebuano.
Road right of way
Futran Philippines president Jose Christopher Fornier said the proposed transport network system will use existing and secondary roads instead of the busy main thoroughfares to eliminate the need for land expropriation for road right of way.
The train would be powered by electricity from solar panels for efficient power consumption.
Fornier said they target to submit the study and recommendations for implementation within eight months to a year to come up with the amount and other details of the project.