Metro Iloilo, Swedish gov’t to study BRT project
ILOILO CITY—Is Metro Iloilo ready for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system?
The Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) on Oct. 29, signed an agreement with a Swedish government-owned development fund that would pave the way for a possible BRT system in the city and province.
The agreement involves a grant worth 6-million Swedish krona (estimated to be at P33 million), which would fund a feasibility study assessing the viability of establishing a BRT system in Metro Iloilo.
This would include technical assessments, financial projections and environmental and social impact analyses to ensure that the proposed system would be sustainable and beneficial to the local community.
The MIGEDC is an inter-government body composed of Iloilo City; the neighboring towns of Pavia, San Miguel, Oton, Leganes, Santa Barbara and Cabatuan in Iloilo province; and the island province of Guimaras and its five towns of Buenavista, Jordan, Nueva Valencia, San Lorenzo and Sibunag.
Acting Iloilo City Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon signed the agreement on behalf of MIGEDC chair, Mayor Jerry Treñas of Iloilo City, who has been on leave since late September.
Ambassador Harald Fries, Charge d’Affaires of the Swedish Embassy in Manila, signed the agreement on behalf of Swedfund.
Millestone
“This partnership with Swedfund is a key milestone in our goal to develop a modern, efficient and sustainable transportation system for Iloilo. The feasibility study will give a clear path forward toward realizing the Metro Iloilo BRT system, a critical project for the future of our city and nearby municipalities, including the province of Guimaras,” Ganzon said in a statement.
Lawyer David Garcia of the City Mayor’s Office said on Oct. 30 that they would conduct a bidding for a consulting firm to do the study.
He said that there were already potential consultants from Sweden, Spain, Thailand and France.
“We will send them invitations for them to bid. If they are interested to bid, and then whoever gives the best bid, will be hired as the consultant. They will be the ones getting the P33 million from Swedfund,” Garcia said.
He said Swedfund has also expressed interest in augmenting the grant money if the P33 million would not be enough.
“If there is a necessity, and the money was not enough, if [the study] needed to be extended, then yes they are really willing to augment and add to the funds,” Garcia said.
The lawyer emphasized that the grant pertains merely to a feasibility study, saying that a BRT system in the near future would most likely come from proposals solicited from private investors through public-private partnership.
Aside from Swedfund, the city government also previously received a proposal from the Lopez-led First Balfour Inc. based in Parañaque City.
Future partnerships
Fries hinted that the Swedish government may be interested in further sustainability partnerships with the Iloilo provincial government.
“Other areas which the governor (Arthur Defensor Jr.) and vice governor (Christine Garin) identified as priority areas for the province, for instance, waste management, are very important, and other areas in the energy sector. [They] spoke a lot about developing the tourism sector, and of course to expand tourism, you need infrastructure, in terms of transportation, energy and waste management is very important,” Fries said.
“All these areas focus on sustainability, and in Sweden, I think we have a lot of know-how in the area of sustainability [and] technology. So, the governor, the vice governor and us in Team Sweden, we decided to continue the dialogue with the province and the city to see if we can find other areas of partnership,” he added.
