DOTC rushes P54-B MRT 3 buyout deal

THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is bent on completing the buyout of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 from its private owner before President Aquino’s term ends in 2016, Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya said on Wednesday.

The so-called MRT-3 equity value buyout deal, originally valued at P54 billion, would solve the thorny issue over the railway line’s ownership, which included the group of businessman Robert John Sobrepeña, and put a stop to the payment of huge rental fees guaranteed to Metro Rail Transit Corp., MRT-3’s private owner.

The deal, outlined under Executive Order No. 167, couldn’t get off the ground because of lack of funding. This year, it was excluded from the national budget.

Abaya said the department was working with lawmakers to include the buyout plan in the 2016 budget. The DOTC is also in talks with the finance department, Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines, which are also stakeholders in Metro Rail Transit Corp.

The actual buyout “may happen next year in the first quarter,” Abaya said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay business forum on Wednesday.

“I think there is time,” the Transportation chief said, when asked whether the transaction would be completed within President Aquino’s term.

The government stands to gain substantially from the MRT-3 deal because, once completed, it will be able to pursue related projects without having to concern itself with legal obstacles coming from the private sector, Abaya added.

MRT-3 serves over half a million Edsa commuters a day.

The DOTC has been drawing flak over the state of the railway line—the train cars tend to break down often while passengers have to endure crowding and long queues.

The DOTC has ordered new train cars from Chinese manufacturer Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co., but delivery will not start until 2016.