A COMPROMISE deal seems to be shaping up among the technocrats of the Ayala and SM groups and the Duterte administration on what was a controversial location for the Metro Railway Transit (MRT) 3, MRT-7 and Light Railway Transit common station.
 
Subject to final approvals, the transportation department, Ayala Land and SM group are now talking of building the common station at the tip of the triangle in between Edsa and North Avenue.  This is on a vacant one-hectare lot owned by the Ayala group but is likewise very close (as in 600 meters away) from the main building of SM North Edsa.  The parties thus now seem to agree that this is the most suitable “middle ground” (being right at the middle of both SM and Trinoma malls) to put in the common station and will benefit all parties involved.
 
We heard that the big bosses of both Ayala and SM groups are now ironing out the prospective agreement with regulators, who have apparently given their nod on this new literal “middle ground,” ending the tug-of-war between the two property giants.  The latest meeting on the prospective middle ground happened last Wednesday night.
 
The common station was to originally be located initially near the SM Annex via a 2009 agreement with the Light Rail Transit Authority under the previous administration. In 2014, the Aquino administration decided to move the location hundreds of meters away to an area near the adjacent Trinoma shopping mall.  This sparked a legal battle and the SM group was afterward able to obtain a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court.
 
Asked about this matter Thursday, San Miguel Corp. president Ramon S. Ang said as the proponent of the MRT-7 project that will connect the metropolis to Del Monte, Bulacan, SMC would abide by whatever the government decides.
 
Having the common station linking not only MRT-3 and MRT-7 but also LRT-1 (which was not part of the original concession agreement) is also seen as a bonus for all parties.