Firm urged to explain delay in MRT 7 construction

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker on Wednesday asked the contractor in the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 7 project to explain the delay in its construction, which she said is causing “too much inconvenience” for motorists, commuters and residents.

In a statement, Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito-Castelo said the delayed MRT 7 construction had already incurred problems besetting the general public due to “horrendous” traffic, including the “lengthy” U-turn slots.

Castelo said EEI, the contractor of MRT 7, had repeatedly committed to finish the project by July 2019 in past meetings with government officials.

“I am urging EEI to expedite this project and explain what has caused the delay, because this project has caused so much inconvenience to our citizens, because traffic builds up on a daily basis,” Castelo said.

The MRT 7 is a 22.8-kilometer elevated train line which will run from North Avenue in Quezon City to San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan province. It is projected to cut travel time between two points from 4 hours to 34 minutes, according to the Department of Transportation.

The new train line will carry about 28,000 passengers an hour in each route, or about 350,000 commuters a day, which can be increased to 800,000 commuters.