Cebu LGU seeks stop bus transit project along Fuente Osmeña, capitol

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY – The Cebu provincial government is seeking to stop the construction of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) facility near its province-owned lots.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has issued a memorandum to BRT project contractor, Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Limited, to cease and desist any civil works.

Her request covers the areas near Fuente Osmeña and the capitol.

The governor emphasized that the ongoing construction of Cebu BRT encroaches on buffer zones around two landmarks.

“The (Cebu BRT) project appears to be located within the buffer zones of Cebu provincial Capitol and Fuente Osmeña Rotunda, both which could easily qualify as classic heritage zones,” she said in the memorandum.

Garcia claimed Cebu BRT project proponents did not obtain clearance from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to proceed with civil works within the specified buffer zones.

Her cousin, Cebu city Vice Mayor Raymond Garcia, echoed the sentiments of the provincial government.

He also asked the city’s Office of the Building Official (OBO) to issue a cease and desist order against the contractor of Cebu BRT project.

Vice Mayor Garcia delivered a privilege speech where he raised concerns regarding the ongoing construction activities near the Capitol building.

“One cannot be allowed to cancel the other, especially if the proposed design did not even pass through both the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission and the Sangguniang Panlungsod,” he said.

Cebu BRT is one of government’s flagship infrastructure projects aimed at providing a more efficient, reliable, comfortable, and safer public transportation for the Cebuanos.

It is modeled after other BRT systems in Seoul, South Korea and Guangzhou, China.

The system is expected to be partially operational in the fourth quarter of 2023 and fully operational in the second quarter of 2025.

DOTr earlier awarded the contract for Package 1 of the BRT project to China-based firm Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Company Limited.

The company won the bid to implement the first BRT alignment.

Package 1 of the BRT covers the route from Cebu capitol through Osmeña Boulevard and right to Cebu South Bus Terminal on N. Bacalso Avenue.

BRT project is a 13-kilometer segregated lane with 17 bus stations, a depot and a trunk terminal.

It is meant to cater to approximately more than 160,000 passengers daily.