The facility aims to ease traffic congestion by limiting the entrance of provincial buses in Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares, like EDSA.
During the event, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade bared that they were able to manage to save the government P9 billion in the construction of the Taguig ITX project as the private partner, Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), agreed to waive the Annual Grantor Payment (AGP).
Tugade said he sat down with top honchos of ALI to forgo the P277 million AGP, which is supposed to be paid on a yearly basis for 35 years.
Under the contract, the government should pay P277 million for the next 35 years," Secretary Tugade said.
Tugade further said that the DOTr was able to haggle more from the ALI that will ultimately benefit the Filipino people.
"Two things will be done, one, the P277 million per year for the next 35 years will no longer be paid, saving the government, this country, no less than P9 billion cashout annually, and two, from the start of its commercial operation, until the end of the concession agreement, ALI will share 2% of their income from the commercial spaces in favor of the government," Tugade said during the Taguig ITX groundbreaking ceremony.
The transportation head was joined by other members of the BUILDBUILDBUILD Team including DPWH Secretary Mark Villar and BCDA President and CEO Vince Dizon during the event.
Taguig ITX is a 6-storey building to be built on a 5.57 hectare property inside the FTI compound which would house passenger concourse, a centralized ticketing area and several business and retail establishments.
The project will also have a provision for 1,200 public utility buses, bays and parking. When completed, Taguig ITX is expected to house around 4,000 buses and accommodate 160,000 passengers daily. It will also feature a pedestrian walkway connection to the PNR FTI station and the proposed subway system.
Taguig ITX will cater to all provincial buses plying the south of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindandao destinations.
Construction will start by the 2nd half of 2018 and is expected to start operation by 1st half of 2020.
Other government officials present at the ITX groundbreaking rites at the former NFA warehouse, FTI, Taguig City, include Taguig City Mayor Lani. Cayetano, Cong. Federico Sandoval II (Malabon), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Danilo Lim, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Martin Delgra III, PNR Chairman Roberto Lastimoso and General Manager Junn Magno, NFA administrator Jason Aquino, and PPP Center Executive Director Boyet Pecson.
ALI chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala and ALI vice chairman and director Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala also attended the ceremony. (EPC/SDL/PIA-NCR)
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