DAVAO CITY – City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) head Ivan Cortez said that a Chinese investor will do feasibility study on a monorail project here in March 2017 to address the growing concerns for the worsening of traffic congestion in the city.
Cortez said in an interview that the investor, who he declined to disclose the name, wanted to tie up with a local developer in putting up a monorail system that will have a capacity “bigger than the bus” but smaller than the Manila Metro Rail Transit System and Manila Light Rail Transit System.
He said that the project will be different from the proposed Mindanao Railway System that would connect the major cities of the island such as Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Zamboanga, Butuan, Surigao, General Santos, and Davao.
Cortez adds the Chinese investor will ask the City Council to allow them do a feasibility study and get the necessary information on the potential of the city and determine the capacity of the monorail.
“They want to know which route is more viable and the number of ‘coaches’ (or the passenger carriage) to put up whether it will sustainable to put up monorail with a capacity of 20,000 per travel. Through the study, they will determine how much will be invested initially and the operational capacity,” said Cortez.
Cortez said that a monorail is more viable in downtown as they can put up more stations every at 2-k. intervals and can loosen up the traffic there during peak hours. (Antonio L. Colina IV)
