MANILA, Philippines – Sangley Airport in Cavite is almost done, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

The new airport is now 72% complete as construction works run 24/7 for the general aviation and turboprop operations of the airport.

Structural works have been continuous for the prompt completion of the passenger terminal building as well as the grade preparation for the hangar’s concrete slab.

Roofing and gutter installation is almost complete, according to DOTr, as well as the ramp and taxiway construction including the drainage system at the airport’s landside area.

The ongoing construction is in line with the directive of DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade to make sure that the facility will be completed in time for the deadline set by President Rodrigo Duterte which is in November of this year.

Once completed, the Sangley Airport is expected help decongest airport traffic at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

MANILA, Philippines – The construction of the first phase of the Mindanao Railway System is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2020, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced Monday.

The DOTr said the bidding for the construction of the project will be held on November 2019 while the groundbreaking is scheduled early next year, citing a Facebook post of Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chairman Manny Piñol.   

Phase 1 of the Mindanao railway project covers 102 kilometers linking the Davao region through its major cities Davao City, Tagum and Digos.

It is designed to accommodate around 110,000 passengers per day in its opening year.

During a briefing last Sept. 12, Piñol asked project planners to consider the coastal areas of Surigao down to Davao Occidental and Sultan Kudarat provinces in the railway project.

These coastal regions, according to Piñol, could be transformed into major food production and tourism areas if they are connected to the railway system.

The MinDA chief said his agency will provide the project’s engineering consultants a commodity map of Mindanao to help them identify key production areas in the region.

Piñol added that the groundwork for the succeeding phases of the 1,550-kilometer railway system is also being prepared by a group of Chinese engineering consultants.

The Mindanao Railway project is seen to be completed by 2022. It is projected to increase the daily ridership of the Tagum-Davao-Digos segment to 134,060 once it becomes operational.

The railway’s first segment is also envisioned to reduce travel time from Tagum City, Davao del Norte to Digos City, Davao del Sur from 3.5 hours to 1.3 hours.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Friday said it has restored partial operations of the Metro Rail Transit line 3 (MRT-3) train service as of 9:45 a.m. after a cut in the overhead catenary system (OCS) caused the suspension of the entire operations earlier.

“MRT-3 resumes partial operations from North Avenue Station to Shaw Boulevard Station (both bounds) as of 9:45 a.m.,” the DOTr-MRT-3 said in an advisory.

“Repair works to restore full service in the entire line is ongoing,” it added.

MRT-3 operations were suspended around 6:42 a.m. Friday due to a reported OCS cable cut which caused insufficient power supply from Shaw Boulevard to Santolan.

The management then implemented provisional service from North Avenue to Shaw Boulevard.

In its 10 a.m. update on Twitter, the DOTr-MRT-3 said that repair works is still ongoing to restore full service in the entire line before 5 p.m. Friday.

It also reported that as of 10:43 a.m., six trains are running in the mainline with 10 minutes headway, and passengers were able to board the train in partial operations from North Ave. Station to Shaw Boulevard.

The MRT-3 management assured that once the full operations have been restored, it will conduct an investigation to determine how the overhead catenary cable could have been cut.

“We will issue an advisory every hour today until Full Operations is resumed. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience,” it said.