We now have a population of about 115 million.
While the annual population growth rate has decreased significantly since 1960 when it was 3.3 percent to 1.3 percent at present, we expect about 2 million people added to the population every year.
In other words, the population is expected to double in about 40 years.
With a rapidly growing population, we need to expand our current mass transportation system to ensure the efficient movement of people and goods across the country.
The current administration recognizes this and has therefore given priority to building more mass transport projects to support economic development efforts.
The government has been pushing for mass transport projects across the country to decongest the roads and improve inter-regional linkages.
Among the big-ticket projects in the pipeline is the Metro Manila Subway, designed to have 17 stations connecting Valenzuela City to Pasay City. and expected to serve over 519,000 passengers daily, once operational.
The government is also working on the North-South Commuter Railway, which will have 35 stations linking Pampanga to Laguna. Once operational, it can accommodate 800,000 passengers daily.
Along with this, the DOTr and Japan International Cooperation Agency are creating a 30-year rail master plan covering the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and Calabarzon.
Still another mass transport project in the drawing boards is a cable car system that would link the proposed Taytay station of Metro Rail Transit Line 4 to Antipolo City.
MRT 4 is a 13.4-kilometer elevated railway mass-transit system designed to have 10 stations that link Taytay to Ortigas central business district.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said several groups have reached out to the government for a potential public-private partnership.
But the project must first undergo a feasibility study to determine the project cost and passenger capacity.
The DOTr’s planning and project development office plans to kick-start the bidding process for the project in 2026, with construction activities targeted to be completed by 2028.
In July, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese firm Zip Infrastructure Co. Ltd. to conduct a feasibility study on another cable car project at Camp John Hay, Baguio City.
The DOTr said this would provide an alternative transport system that could ease traffic congestion in the country’s Summer Capital.
Cable cars may be OK for mountainous and hilly areas, but the priority should be an extensive passenger and freight train system throughout the country that can boost economic development at a faster clip through public-private partnership.
