CAGAYAN de Oro City Mayor Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy ordered yesterday the creation of a technical working group (TWG) that will finalize the routes and technical requirements of both the Mindanao Railway Transit and the Metro CDO Light Rail Transit (LRT) projects.
“During the Monday afternoon (March 20) meeting called by Mayor Klarex, he ordered the creation of the technical working group to be chaired initially by the Roads and Traffic Administration and we’re waiting for the issuance of the mayor’s executive order for the TWG so we can proceed in preparing the technical requirements for submission to Mayor Klarex,” said RTA chief Nonito Oclarit Jr.
Engr. Oclarit said Mayor Uy called for the meeting with department managers of the RTA, City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), City Engineering Office, City Legal Office, City Tourism Office, and Regulatory Compliance Board (RCB) to update them on plans by the Department of Transportation (DOTR) to pursue the two projects of which Cagayan de Oro City will be a key player and beneficiary.
“On the last week of April, the DOTR official (Asst. DOTR Secretary for Planning and Project Development Leonel Cray de Velez) will return to Cagayan de Oro to receive the plans to build the (main station for the Villanueva town to Laguindingan town phase of the) Mindanao Railway project (in Cagayan de Oro City) along with the Metro CDO Light Rail Transit project for the city,” Oclarit said.
During the meeting, Mayor Uy told the RTA, City Engineering Office, and CPDO that he wants the substations of the Metro CDO LRT project to be established in areas that draw the most number of people like schools, malls, markets, and even churches.
“As far as the Mindanao Railway Transit is concerned, maybe we can build the main station at a junction (to avoid road-right-of-way problems),” Mayor Uy said in Visayan.
Oclarit said they will find ways to incorporate Mayor Uy’s requests into the Metro CDO LRT project including their assessment of how the city’s proposed LRT project and the Mindanao Railway project will impact the city’s households and existing public transport routes.
Oclarit also confirmed a proposal by CPDO chief Ramil Balquin to include a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project for the city.
Balquin mentioned during the meeting that the BRT project is being pushed by the incumbent administration for the country’s major cities.
“Davao City already started its BRT project and Balquin floated the possibility of introducing the BRT to the city. We’ll see how this BRT can apply to the city…whatever of these two projects (LRT or BRT) will push through will have to be reconciled with the city’s public transport master plan,” Oclarit said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)
