QC Pledges Full Support for MRT 7 Project

The Quezon City government has moved to provide proponents of the MRT Line 7 Project all the support necessary for the orderly construction of the project, including passage of ordinances relative to real property tax valuation and grant of tax incentives.

As provided in a memorandum of agreement signed by Mayor Herbert Bautista with Universal LRT Corporation (ULC) Limited chairman and president Ramon Ang, the city government has committed to support the project in terms of measures to reduce operational costs without shifting the financial burden to the riding public.

The city government, through relevant local government processes, shall also cause the classification of the project as a mass rail transportation under special category for real property taxation purposes and in the relaxation of the real property tax burden of the ULC.

Aside from tax requirements, the city government also assured ULC of providing an orderly system for securing the necessary permits for the construction of the project, which is expected to provide a significant boost to the city’s economy, especially in the areas of trade and commerce and real estate.

With 11 of the 14 stations located in Quezon City, the Mayor said the project would expand the city’s prospects for growth especially along its stations in Tandang Sora, Don Antonio, Batasan, Manggahan, Doña Carmen, Mindano Avenue, Regalado Avenue, Quirino and Sacred Heart. Mayor Bautista said “the project is very important to Quezon City since it will enable us to spread our developments more easily through its path, with the 11 stations in our city becoming re-energized as centers of mixed used developments.”

Aside from the development of commerce and real estate in QC areas along the 22-kilometer elevated railway project, the Mayor also considered the project as vital in providing the city a convenient link to Central Luzon as the project also has a road component that will start at the Balagtas Interchange of the North Luzon Expressway and end in an intermodal terminal in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.

According to the Mayor, the project will also enable Quezon City to strengthen its partnership with San Jose del Monte, Bulacan for new community development, especially in the area of developing low-cost housing sites for the city’s underprivileged residents.

The MRT-7 project, which is expected to be completed in three years, is also expected to transform the Quezon Memorial Circle as a premier tourist destination. Once completed, it will only take 30 minutes to commute from end-to-end, compared to the current two-hour travel time. (QC PAISO/RJB/SDL/PIA-NCR)