(DC file photo)
Back in his home turf, Department of Transportation (DoTr) secretary Vivencio ‘Vince’ Dizon expressed confidence that by the first quarter of 2028, the Unified Grand Central Station will be completed before President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. end his term in June.
Based on reports, the DoTr has resumed the construction of the central station with partial operations expected by March 2027. The station will link the Metro Manila Subway, Light Rail Transit Line 1 and Metro Rail Transit Lines 3 and 7.
Partial operations for MRT-7 are likewise targeted in June next year from North Avenue to Sacred Heart Stations. Tala and San Jose Del Monte, the remaining stations, will be completed by 2028.
Prior to Secretary Dizon’s pronouncement, the Unified Grand Central Station’s construction had been delayed for several years since it began in 2007.
Last year, the DOTr issued a formal notice of termination against BF Corporation and Foresight Development and Surveying Company Consortium, citing delays in the project’s construction.
In July, then transportation chief Giovanni ‘Banoy’ Lopez announced the approval of a variation order for the project by the government’s Economy and Development Council, which was assigned to the Light Rail Manila Corporation.
In 2017, former transportation chief Arthur ‘Art’ Tugade said the common station would be open by 2019, but it was moved to 2022 amid the pandemic. Former transportation chief Jaime Bautista also moved the target date by the end of that year, citing technical issues.
