THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said over the weekend that expansion of the Light Rail Transit-1 (LRT-1) to Cavite is now 20 percent complete.

In a statement sent to reporters, the DoTr said that it was optimistic that the extension of the railway project will finish on time, and that five of the eight planned stations will be fully operational by the fourth quarter of 2021.

The LRT-1 extension is part of the Aquino administration’s public-private partnership, which will add 11.7 kilometers (km) of railroad to the 18.1-km LRT-1 from Roosevelt to Baclaran. The expansion will start from Baclaran in Parañaque and will end in Bacoor, Cavite.

Once complete, travel time between the points is expected to be reduced to 25 minutes from the current one hour and 10 minutes.

Light Rail Manila Corp. jointly-owned by Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings, which operates and manages the LRT-1 since 2015, has been tapped to expand the project for up to P30 billion.

Prior to this, the joint venture was given 32 years to manage LRT-1 for a transaction worth P65 billion.

The expansion will start from Baclaran in Parañaque and will end in Bacoor, Cavite.

Apart from the construction of the extension, the project will also include the procurement of new trains, expansion of its depot and acquisition of right of way, with such components to be funded in part by the Government of the Philippines and by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

To recall, the Philippine government signed a P12.8-billion contract with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles in 2017 to buy 120 new light rail vehicles. The new monorail cabs are scheduled for delivery starting July 2020 until 2022.