STATE-RUN Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) on Wednesday said it will bid out the construction of the project linking Metro Manila’s existing railways by the first quarter of next year. Rafael Rodriguez, LRTA administrator, told reporters that the construction of the P980-million common station in SM Annex in Quezon City is expected to start in the first quarter of next year and will be completed by first quarter in 2012.

Rodriguez said the common station will connect the existing Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 and LRT Line 1 and the planned $1.235 billion 20-kilometer MRT 7 that will run from the San Jose del Monte station in Bulacan to the SM City station in North Avenue.

Rodriguez said that SM Prime Holdings Inc. had contributed P200 million for the naming rights of the common station, which will be used to partly finance the construction.

The LRT 1 runs from Baclaran in Pasay City to Monumento in Caloocan City, while the MRT 3 runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay.

The LRTA official said the common station is part of the LRT North Extension Project, which runs from Caloocan City to SM North in Quezon City.

The project involves the extension of LRT 1 to the North Avenue station of MRT 3, the construction of two new intermediate stations—Balintawak and Roosevelt—and a common station, the LRT 1 North Avenue station.

Of the three stations of the LRT 1 North Extension, the Balintawak and Roosvelt stations already opened for commercial operation.

Rodriguez said the project cost has ballooned to P9.64 billion from the original cost of P6.32 billion.

He said the revised project cost includes the cost of constructing the common station, the proposed Malvar Station in Caloocan City, and additional units of rolling stock.

Once the project is completed, the LRT 1 North Extension is expected to serve about 800,000 to 1 million passengers.