'Commuters are really looking forward to having a subway in the heart of the busiest district in the country. If this requires including Taguig into the project, so be it. If this necessitates another joint venture agreement with Taguig, Infradev should do it and do it fast'.
Will the Makati residents' dream of a modern subway ever be possible?
With the High Court ruling on the Taguig-Makati territorial dispute, the developer of the ambitious almost P200-billion ($3.5 million) Makati Subway project has stepped on its brakes.
Where the supposed subway train depot and two other stations are to be constructed, at the very heart of the areas, were stripped off Makati City by the Supreme Court.
In its disclosure submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the subway’s publicly-listed developer, Philippine InfraDev Holdings, raised feasibility concerns which may derail the 11-kilometer underground train linking key areas in the Makati business district.
The High Tribunal ruled that 10 barangays that used to be under the territorial jurisdiction of Makati now actually part of Taguig. The train depot was to be located in Barangay Cembo with stations at the University of Makati and the Ospital ng Makati.
No longer feasible?
“The alignment of the subway will no longer be feasible,” InfraDev said in its disclosure to SEC.
InfraDev also sought discussions with the Makati City Government “in light of the change in law the Supreme Court decision brings” to what is considered as the biggest local government and private sector joint venture infrastructure project sealed in 2019.
Relatedly, InfraDev took note of the setbacks as corporate shares reportedly plunged by as much as 10 percent as a result of the Supreme Court decision.
Makati City Proposed Subway
Planning with Makati
Under the original stipulations, the Makati City government transferred ownership of a 7.9-hectare property in Makati City to Infradev in exchange for the issuance of preferred shares in the company.
“These idle properties which are located at the identified stations of the Subway Project will be used in the construction of topside development for residential, commercial, and public uses,” InfraDev said in its latest annual report.
In 2021, InfraDev awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the first 8-kilometer phase of the Makati subway project to state-owned China Construction Second Engineering Bureau Co. Ltd.
Resolve: Joint Venture
According to the transport advocacy network, The Passenger Forum, the project requires Makati City’s immediate attention even as InfraDev suggested that the cities of Makati and Taguig explore the possibility of a joint venture that would resolve the issues hounding the railway project.
“InfraDev’s disclosure mentions something about their intent to start discussions with the LGU of Makati in light of the Supreme Court decision to grant some former Makati territories to Taguig City. We hope that they will find a workable solution as this is a very important mass transportation project and about 700,000 passengers are expected to ride and benefit from this subway on a daily basis,” says TPF Convener Primo Morillo.
Morillo said that one of the options for the P200-billion worth project is to include the local government of Taguig City in the Joint Venture Agreement.
“Commuters are really looking forward to having a subway in the heart of the busiest district in the country. If this requires including Taguig into the project, so be it. If this necessitates another JVA with Taguig, Infradev should do it and do it fast,” he added.
National Gov't Takes Over
Forging a joint venture with Taguig, Morillo added, may even open the possibility of an expansion deeper into Taguig, especially to Bonifacio Global City.
“Persuading Taguig to be part of this project is a crucial task for Infradev and expanding into BGC may just do the job. In our view, it may even push the daily ridership closer to a million commuters making it more efficient and helpful in our dreams to solve Metro Manila’s transport woes. We appeal to the good mayors of Makati and Taguig to cooperate for the sake of the commuting public and the nation,” he further averred.
Morillo also asserted that if Makati and Taguig will not cooperate, they should allow the Department of Transportation (DOTr) or the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to take over on the side of the government.
“This is another way to save the project and it could even make the project better as it can go beyond the boundaries of those two cities.”
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