On July 20, DBM Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno joined Transportation Secretary Art Tugade for the ‘Build, Build, Build’ (BBB) Team Progress Briefing and Inspection of Projects.
Together with the BBB Team, Secretary Diokno inspected the construction sites for the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road Segment 10 and the MRT-7 Project Quezon Memorial Circle Station.
The NLEX-SLEX Connector Road Segment 10 is an 8.25 km, 4-lane divided elevated expressway from MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela City to C3 Road in Caloocan City. The ‘Connector Road’ is a segment of the NLEX Harbor Link, a 15.57-kilometer NLEX extension which will run from Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to Caloocan City.
The NLEX-Harbor Link will provide access to the north expressway without passing through EDSA or the Balintawak toll Plaza, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways.The NLEX Harbor Link is now on its way to completion, after the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) recently issued the Notice to Proceed for the 2.6 km exit rampfrom C3 Road in Caloocan to Radial Road 10 in Navotas known as “R-10”.
Meanwhile, MRT-7 is rail transit system running through 14 stations from North Avenue in Quezon City to San Jose Del Monte City in Bulacan. Among the areas where stations shall be constructed include: North Avenue, Quezon City Memorial Circle, University Avenue, Tandang Sora, Don Antonio, Batasan, Doña Carmen, Regalado, Mindanao Avenu, Quirino, Sacred Heart, Tala, and San Jose Del Monte. Upon completion, it will be able to accommodate 420,000 passengers daily.
During the program proper at the Quezon Memorial Circle station site, Secretary Tugade announced that the contractor, San Miguel Corportation, has agreed to fast-track the project for completion on the Second Quarter of 2019.
Secretary Dioknogave his message of support for the BBB projects at the MRT-7 site as well. In his speech, the budget chiefshared that P847.2 billion (5.3% of GDP), has already been allocated for infrastructure this year,the largest in recent Philippine history, and would be even higher next year at 1.1 Trillion pesos (6.3% of GDP), as the administration plans to spend P8 to P9 trillion for infrastructure in the next six years.
“We have to make up for the infrastructure gap [of the past years]. We have to do this now,” the Secretary said.
Also present at the MRT-7 inspection were Senator JV Ejercito, Quezon City First District Representative Vincent Crisologo, MMDA Chairman Danny Lim, NHA General Manager Marcelino Escalada and San Miguel Corp. Chief Finance Officer Raul Romulo.
