DPWH Sec. Villar sees metro traffic problem 'solved' in 2-3 years

Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar is confident that Metro Manila's traffic gridlock can be solved in two to three years under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

"It is a problem we can solve in two to three years," Villar said Tuesday during the Financial Times - First Metro Philippines Investment Summit in Makati City.

According to Villar, political will — said to be the biggest hurdle to infrastructure projects — will be key under the new administration.

"Rest assured that the biggest hurdle, political will, is something that the President has a lot of," he said.

"The President is dedicated, the President is firm," he added.

Projects that is expected to address the traffic situation in the metropolitan within two to three years include the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX)-South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Connector Road, and the Manila Harbor Link Project.

The NLEX-SLEX Connector Road involves the construction and operation and maintenance (O&M) of an 8-kilometer 4-lane elevated expressway over the Philippine National Railway (PNR) right of way.

It starts from the C3 Road in Caloocan through Manila crossing España towards the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Sta. Mesa connecting Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 (MMSS3).

Meanwhile, the Harbor Link Project entails the 8.07-km extension of the NLEX from Mindanao Avenue, Quezon City to the C-3 (Circumferential Road 3) in Caloocan City.

It is divided into two segments under the concession of the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) for the Manila North Expressway Project.

Villar also said that the DPWH is currently looking at ways to improve the traffic situation of the whole country.

"Change is here and it will be felt very, very soon," he said.

A study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2014 revealed that the gridlock plaguing the streets of Metro Manila is costing the Philippines at least P2.4 billion a day.

In 2015, then National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Arsenio M. Balisacan estimated the economic loss from traffic jams at P3 billion a day.

Without intervention, JICA said that the economic cost of the daily gridlock is likely to reach P6 billion a day by 2030. —JST, GMA News