Expect ‘brand new’ MRT3 after Japan-funded rehab, says DOTr exec

Commuters can expect better services and facilities once the Japanese loan-funded rehabilitation of the glitch-plagued Metro Rail Transit Line 3 is finished, a top official of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Friday.

"Kapag natapos ang rehab na ito parang meron tayong brand new MRT3," Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said in an interview on GMA News TV's News to Go.

Batan earlier said the governments of the Philippines and Japan are set to sign the P18-billion loan agreement for the rehabilitation and maintenance of MRT3 on November 7. 

The loan agreement will pave the way for the return of Sumitomo-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries—the designer and builder of the railway system—as the maintenance contractor of the MRT3.

The rehabilitation will cover the trains, the radio system, the CCTV system, the signaling system, the power supply system, and the public address system.

The contractor is also expected to fix the rail tracks, road rail vehicles, depot equipment, elevators and escalators, and other station-building equipment.

"'Yung scope of work ng JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) rehab ay 'yung ayusin lahat ng kailangan ayusin sa MRT3 para ma-restore sa original designed and condition nito. Covered 'yun lahat gaya ng overhauling ng 72 na bagon, total reconditioned sa mga riles natin pati ung power supply ia-upgrade, 'yung signalling system at CCTV natin papalitan," Batan said.

"Isa 'yun sa dahilan kung bakit natin kinuha ang unang nag-design at nag-construct, dahil sa nangyari sa MRT3, sa kundisyon niya ngayon ay maraming sira at maramig ayusin, ang solusyon ay kunin ang original na designer at developers ng MRT3," the DOTr official said.

The overall rehabilitation of MRT3 is expected to take 43 months—31 months for simultaneous rehabilitation and maintenance works and 12 months for the contractor’s "defect liability period." — Ted Cordero/RSJ, GMA News