NOW IT BEGINS President Marcos (third from left) leads the groundbreaking ceremony for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the country’s first BRT system planned in the 1990s, at the Fuente Osmeña Circle in uptown Cebu City on Monday. With him are House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (left), Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia (second from left), and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama (right). PHOTO COURTESY OF SUGBO NEWS
CEBU CITY—Over a decade since it was first envisioned, Cebu will finally have its first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.
President Marcos on Monday led the groundbreaking for the P16.3-billion modern public transport system at Fuente Osmeña Circle in uptown Cebu City.
The Cebu BRT project, according to the President, is also the first in the Philippines.
“Let me assure all the Filipinos that this BRT system has been planned thoroughly and studied by both the national and the local governments of Cebu. This has spanned years and many administrations. Today, we are finally here to implement this plan and recalibrate the transport system of Metro Cebu,” Mr. Marcos said in a 10-minute speech he delivered during the event.
It was Mr. Marcos’ first visit to Cebu since he was elected President in the May 2022 elections.
Aside from the groundbreaking ceremony for the BRT project, he also launched the “Kadiwa ng Pangulo” market at the Cebu Capitol and led the groundbreaking for the government housing project dubbed as Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing at South Road Properties, both in Cebu City, as well as attended the ceremonial distribution of government assistance to victims of various calamities and other groups at Mandaue Sports Complex in Mandaue City.
A flagship project
According to Mr. Marcos, the Cebu BRT is one of the government’s flagship infrastructure projects aimed at providing a more efficient, reliable, comfortable and safer public transportation for the Cebuanos.
A brainchild of former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, the BRT is modeled after other BRT systems in Seoul in South Korea and Guangzhou in China, among others. It was expected to be partially operational in the fourth quarter of 2023 and fully operational in the second quarter of 2025.
The BRT project is a 13.8-kilometer segregated lane with 17 bus stations, a depot and a trunk terminal that is expected to cater to more than 160,000 passengers daily. It is comprised of three packages and was designed to accommodate 83 12-meter buses by its opening year. In the future, this would be increased and expanded to accommodate more and longer buses.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) earlier awarded the contract for Package 1 of the BRT project to China-based firm Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd. It will cover the route from the Cebu Capitol through Osmeña Boulevard and to the Cebu South Bus Terminal on N. Bacalso Ave.
‘Cebu leads the way’
Osmeña lobbied for the bus-based transit system in the 1990s, but it was only in 2008 when the DOTr began formal planning. In 2018, the DOTr wanted to cancel the project due to infrastructure problems but later decided to push through with it.
Mr. Marcos commended the DOTr for initiating the first BRT project in Cebu and the Philippines.
“As usual, nauna na naman ang Cebu. Cebu once again leads the way,” he said.
Mr. Marcos asked the DOTr to finish the project within its target time while ensuring that just compensation is given to property owners affected by the project and to properly relocate the affected informal settlers.
Mr. Marcos also conveyed his gratitude to the local government’s partners from the World Bank, the French Development Agency and the Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd. for helping realize the project in due time. INQ