Construction of the P4-billion South Integrated Transport System is expected to start in September this year, after the government signed the 35-year concession agreement with a unit of Ayala Land Inc. Tuesday.
“With the South ITS connecting different modes of transportation and services, we can guarantee the public more efficient and seamless transfers. It will also improve traffic flow and reduce congestion in Metro Manila, as it will serve as a transfer point for provincial buses entering the metropolis,” Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said.
The department signed the concession agreement with Arca South Integrated Terminal Inc., a unit of Ayala Land, which submitted the lowest annual grantor payment of P277.9 million and fulfilled all post-award requirements.
“They have 18 months to construct the ITS,” Abaya said.
South ITS is one of the intermodal facilities that will be the end-point for over 2,000 provincial buses currently entering Metro Manila each day, effectively decongesting main thoroughfares.
The project will allow convenient in-city public transport transfers, as railway lines, city buses, taxis and other public utility vehicles servicing inner Metro Manila will be made available.
The project covers the construction of a terminal within a 4.7-hectare lot along the FTI Compound in Taguig City. It will connect passengers coming from the south, specifically Batangas and Laguna provinces, to other public utility vehicles that are serving inner Metro Manila.
The project also covers the construction of arrival and departure bays, public information systems, ticketing and baggage facilities and park-ride facilities.
The Transportation Department earlier awarded the P3.27-billion transport terminal in Parañaque City to MWM Terminals of the Megawide Group.
The Megawide group offered the lowest annual grantor payment of P100 million for the ITS Southwest Terminal project. The project also has a 35-year cooperation period.
The terminal, set to be built along the Manila-Cavite Expressway in Parañaque City, is designed to provide seamless transfers between different modes of transportation.
The government also plans to bid out the ITS North project near the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City.