TRANSPORTATION Secretary Jaime J. Bautista recently issued a notice to proceed to Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd. (ARUP) for consulting services to develop Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4), a transit system that will serve the eastern section of Metro Manila, including parts of Rizal.
Mr. Bautista issued the notice to proceed on Sept. 16 to Thomas John Fergal Whyte, the authorized representative of ARUP, according to documents obtained by BusinessWorld.
“Pursuant to the conditions of the contract of the Metro Rail Transit Line 4, procurement of independent checking engineer, please be informed that the contract between the Department of Transportation (DoTr) and ARUP has been approved and concurred in by the concerned authorities,” Mr. Bautista said.
The contract, according to Mr. Bautista, is worth $4.18 million plus P38.90 million, or the equivalent of around P282.61 million.
“Accordingly, you are hereby directed to commence the work in accordance with the terms and conditions as stipulated in the contract, and the date of commencement shall be no later than 21 days upon receipt of this notice,” he added.
According to its website, ARUP has “over 40 years (of) presence in Greater China, providing a full spectrum of design, engineering, planning and consulting services.”
“We have worked on many of the region’s most iconic structures, including the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube in Beijing, Stonecutters Bridge in Hong Kong, and Taipei Performing Arts Centre in Taipei,” it said.
Multinational consulting, engineering, and architecture professional services firm IDOM will be the designer of the railway project.
The DoTr “has awarded IDOM the detailed design of the architecture and engineering of the new line, a project that addresses the design challenges of sustainable and inclusive transportation,” the company said on its website.
“This mobility system, financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will connect the cities east of the capital with certain areas of Rizal, improving the conditions of mobility and general well-being of the citizens of Manila,” IDOM noted.
The ADB has said it would lend $1 billion for the project.
Along its 15.56-kilometer route, the project will feature 11 stations between Taytay and N. Domingo, near the Light Rail Transit Line 2 Gilmore station in Quezon City, IDOM added. — Arjay L. Balinbin