Makati Intra-City Subway Project Expected To Ease Traffic
The plans for the Makati Intra-City Subway has been released by the Makati City Hall last week. IRC Properties Inc., a real estate agency, was granted original proponent status for the project earlier this year after submitting their proposal to the city of Makati. The subway project is currently undergoing the Swiss Challenge (bidding method) until late September, but Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay has already announced that the subway will accommodate 700,000 passengers daily.
One of the MRT 3 station that pass through Makati City is the Ayala Station. This station is planned to link with the proposed Makati Subway
Makati Traffic Situation
The transit systems in the city are road-based which are jeepneys and buses, and railroad-based, which are the MRT 3, LRT 1 and PNR lines. To encourage walking, elevated pedestrian, covered walkways, and an underpass network have been constructed. However still, the volume of vehicle trips that Makati generates is equivalent to 13 percent of the 4.5 million Metro Manila trips.
In a report from the Makati City Hall, the city is a major traffic generator for the greater Metropolitan Manila Area because it is the primary Central Business District of the country. The city attracts a large amount of vehicle traffic due to its relatively large residential population and its predominantly service-oriented economy.
Also read: Car and Traffic Regulations
Another landmark that the subway has been announced to pass through is the Makati Central Fire Station along Buendia and Ayala Avenue.
Build Build Build and the Swiss Challenge
The Philippine government under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration has launched the infrastructure program, Build Build Build, to propel the country’s economic growth in the next five-and-a-half years. The President has also adapted the Swiss Challenge strategy for the projects that include the Makati Intra-City Subway.
Also read: PH to launch biggest infrastructure plan “Build, Build, Build”
The Swiss Challenge is a method of bidding where a private company proposes a project and the local government puts the details in public in an invitation to other interested parties to challenge. The original proponent has an opportunity to match the best bid. In this case, IRC Properties Inc. is the original proponent for the Makati Subway Project.
The details on the Makati Subway was released by the Makati City local government
Makati Intra-City Subway Project
The details of the subway project released by Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay last August 24 is from the feasibility study of IRC Properties Inc. The company has informed Philippine Primer that they cannot reveal other information during the Swiss Challenge until September 24.
However, the local government of Makati is able to reveal the possible route as well as when the groundbreaking could be. The Makati Intra-City Subway is meant to link important landmarks, public offices, and institutions of Makati. This includes the Central Business District, Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati City Central Fire Station, Manila South Cemetery, Makati City Hall, and the University of Makati and Ospital ng Makati in Guadalupe.
With a $3.7-billion authorized capital, IRC plans to build a 10-kilometer underground railways system with ten stations. The released proposal will complement the existing MRT 3, as well as the ongoing government projects such as the JICA-funded Mega Manila Subway and the Pasig River ferry.
No exact date has been announced when the project will start but the local government will make sure that construction will not impede road operations.
Also read: Proposed Mega Manila Subway to be built by 2024
All the way to the East of Makati is Guadalupe Viejo and Pembo which will be the last point for the proposed Makati Subway. Pictured is the University of Makati overlooking Pasig River.
Solutions to traffic
The current administration has been very vigilant in studying about the public concern about the traffic in Metro Manila. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has rolled out earlier this year the first batch of electronic jeepneys that will soon operate around the metropolis. Several units are already being used by government offices on a dry-run.
Also read: Hino Motors Officially Turns Over Modern Jeepney Units
With the Build Build Build projects as well as the use of the Swiss Challenge system to hasten the construction of infrastructures, the country is fast approaching an era of traffic-less roads. In comparison to neighboring Asian countries, the Philippines only has four railroads: Philippine National Railways (PNR), Manila Metro Rail Transit (MRT), and the Light Rail Transit (LRT 1 and 2).
Also read: A Guide to the MRT, LRT and the PNR
With reports from the Makati City Hall and an interview with IRC Properties Inc.
