Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Art Tugade on Friday signed a contract with a Spanish consulting firm to conduct the detailed engineering and architectural design for Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4), the rail transit system to link parts of eastern Metro Manila with the province of Rizal.
It is expected to generate over 73,000 direct and indirect jobs for Filipinos during the project’s construction phase, and once the rail line becomes operations, Tugade said.
The contract signing was done at the Rizal Provincial Capitol between the DOTr and IDOM Consulting Engineering, Architecture, SA, (IDOM), the Spanish firm that won the award for the project’s detailed architectural and engineering design.
The mobilization of the P58. 9-million project began after the Department of Transportation issued IDOM the Notice of Award on September 17, 2021. Construction of the MRT-4 is funded by official development assistance from the Asian Development Bank.
“This project will provide over 73,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities for Filipinos during its construction phase and after its completion when the line becomes operational,” said Tugade.
“Not only will the MRT-4 create needed jobs, especially as we recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is also expected to spur livelihood and economic opportunities, and foster socioeconomic benefits,” Tugade added.
IDOM Consulting Engineering, Architecture, SA, as the detailed architectural and engineering design consultant (DEDC) will prepare the project’s preliminary design, detailed engineering and tender designs, the loan processing documents, financial and economical assessments, the project/loan safeguards documents, and bidding documents for the MRT-4 project.
Under the agreement, IDOM is also tasked to determine the proper mode of transportation along the alignment and provide the methodology on ridership validation.
Funded by an official development assistance (ODA) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the MRT-4 is a proposed railway mass-transit system intended to serve and connect the eastern part of Metro Manila, including the highly-populated areas of the province of Rizal.
Construction of the line is slated to start in the 1st Quarter of 2024. The line is expected to start its trial operation in the 3rd Quarter of 2027.
The MRT-4 is approximately 15.56 kilometers long with 11 stations and 2 provisional (future) stations.
Once fully operational by the first Quarter of 2028, MRT-4 trains can achieve maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour and a commercial speed of from 25 kilometers to 40 kilometers per hour.
The railway will cut across the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan, Quezon, Pasig, and municipalities of Cainta and Taytay in Rizal, addressing the massive traffic problem and limited road capacities in the densely populated areas of eastern Metro Manila.
The MRT-4 is expected to serve 4,464 passengers per hour per day-peak and 2,678 passengers per hour per day off-peak with an estimated travel time of 27 minutes from N. Domingo in San Juan City to Taytay.
The project’s design stage is slated in the fourth quarter of 2021, while the start of early works is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022.