Thirteen influential business and industry groups are urging the “expeditious” completion of the long-delayed common station linking Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT 1), Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3), and the proposed MRT 7.

In a statement released on Wednesday, foreign and local businessmen said the project is facing possible delays due to a House panel review of the project.

“We fully support the memorandum of agreement [MOA] executed among the train operators of LRT 1, MRT 3 and MRT 7, and the Department of Transportation [DOTr] agreeing to the intersection of Edsa and North Avenue in Quezon City as the location of the common train station,” the groups said in the statement.

The DOTr and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), along with SM Prime Holdings Inc., San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and Light Rail Manila Corp.—the LRT 1 operator owned by Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.—and their affiliates signed a MOA in January to finally move forward with the project. Even as construction is still scheduled to begin by year-end, the House Committee on Transportation is proposing to shift the DOTr’s contribution to the project, pegged at P2.8 billion, to the private sector.

This was after House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez groused at the P2.8 billion to be shouldered by the DOTr, for the portion that will house the platform and concourse of the LRT 1 and MRT 3.

“We agree that the grand common station to serve commuters in all train line—LRT 1, MRT 3 and MRT 7—be undertaken by the government through the DOTr, except for the respective areas assigned to the private stakeholders and concessionaires,” the groups said.

“The government, by undertaking the common station and underwriting its cost, would facilitate the implementation of this long-delayed project,” they added.

The DOTr had explained earlier that the cost has increased, given that the size of the station proposed now is double that of the original design in 2009.

The project had been in limbo for eight years, starting in 2009, when SM Prime agreed with the government for the station to be located near SM City North Edsa.
After additional delays in implementation during the transition period to the Aquino administration, it was decided that the station will be moved nearer to the TriNoma mall, reportedly due to savings to the government of P 1.4 billion compared to the earlier agreement. The current proposal will be between the two malls.

The statement was issued by the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc., Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, and the IT and Business Process Association Of The Philippines. These groups were also joined by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc., the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Semiconductors and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc.