DOTr: Privatization of transportation projects 'way to go'

Last week, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced that the government is planning on privatizing the EDSA Busway, much like what it did to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). Now, newly-appointed DOTr Secretary, Vince Dizon, says that critical transport projects should also be turned over to the private sector to make it more efficient.

“This is critical [privatization of transport projects] because I think that is the way to go. Sec. [Bautista] can be assured that we will really push that forward because that’s really [critical] to my mind and especially to the mind of our President the way to go to make transport services more efficient,” said Dizon during today’s formal turnover of leadership ceremony at the DOTr.

Busway to go private by 2026, MRT soon

The operations and maintenance (O&M) of the EDSA Busway and MRT-3 rail line will be up for privatization with the former's feasibility study, which should be completed in a few months and is expected to be awarded by the end of 2026.

On the other hand, the MRT-3’s terms of reference (TOR) for both its solicited and unsolicited proposals are being ironed out by the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center, Asian Development Bank, and DOTr.