Metro Cebu Transport Master Plan Presented Tuesday

Department of Transportation (DOTr) planning officers will be here on Tuesday to join consultants from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in presenting to the Cebuanos the proposed master plan on urban transport system in Metro Cebu.

A team of Japanese experts on mass transportation led by Dr. Tetsuji Masujima, will present the draft master plan report in a workshop on Tuesday afternoon at the Cebu Provincial Capitol Social Hall.

“Future development projects in Metro Cebu shall never be implemented if not aligned with this JICA master plan,” said Michael Dino, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, adding that “the Cebuanos will be happy that the master plan includes rail system.”

The study which delves on the effective mass transport system in Metro Cebu is on its final phase, Dino said.

Masujima, in his letter to Dino obtained by the Philippine News Agency, said that “we wanted to hold workshop/seminar as part of our capacity development activities.”

On Wednesday, Jan. 23, consultants from JICA will meet with officials from the DOTr in a final joint working group and steering committee at the Dignitaries Hall of the Cebu Provincial Capitol, said May Caliao, the study group’s project officer.

The master plan, Dino said, will include basic policy and past regulations of urban planning in Metro Cebu.

“It’s proposed urban transport master plan and projects tackle about road network, public transport system, and traffic management planning,” Dino said.

In the draft master plan, he said, the Cebuano public will know about the importance of master plan evaluation and strategic environmental assessment.

It can be recalled that Dino pushed for the implementation of a rail system which he said will begin with an airport line (Cebu City center to Mactan International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City) and a segment of center line (Mambaling to Minglanilla). (PNA)