The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Wednesday signed a P7.38 billion contract with Sumitomo Corporation for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), ensuring safety and efficiency of the rail line.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Sumitomo – the original designer, builder and maintenance provider – will rehabilitate and maintain the MRT3 for the next 26 months.
“This maintenance extension contract manifests our determination to keep public transports safe, efficient and convenient,” Bautista said. According to him, Sumitomo will use four-car-train-sets instead of the existing three-car-sets and significantly increase the daily ridership into more than half a million passengers a day, and by this token complement the services of the EDSA Bus Carousel.
“What is more significant in extending the maintenance contracts for MRT 3 is ensuring trouble-free operations to Metro Manila’s second rapid transit line,” Bautista said, adding the project will make the rail line at par with the train systems of developed countries.
The rehabilitation and maintenance extension contracts cover technical system support, maintenance, spare parts procurement, as well as the provision of other rehabilitation and capacity expansion services to MRT-3, to improve the system’s service reliability, capacity, and long-term sustainability.
Signed by the DOTr and Sumitomo was the Extended Maintenance Service, a contractual agreement to continue the maintenance service for the MRT-3 until 2025.
Another contract, the variation order agreement, documents changes or revisions to the original contract to improve the current MRT-3 System.
Meanwhile, the supervision consultant extension contract with Oriental Consultants Global will extend the original contract’s lifetime and ensure the continuity of the supervision of the maintenance works of MRT-3.
The DOTr expressed gratitude to the government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), for their continued support to the MRT-3, which had its first rehabilitation completed last December 2021.
