A decade after approving its loan for the Cebu bus rapid transit (BRT) project, the World Bank lamented sluggish implementation and warned it may remain unfinished when the financing ends two years from now.

In a Dec. 19 implementation status and results report, the Washington-based multilateral lender downgraded the overall implementation progress of the long-delayed BRT project being rolled out in the "Queen City of the South" to "moderately unsatisfactory" from "moderately satisfactory" previously.

The progress towards achieving the project's development objective of "improving the overall performance of the urban passenger transport system in the project corridor in Cebu City in terms of the quality and level of service, safety and environmental efficiency" was also downgraded to "moderately unsatisfactory" by the World Bank.

"The pace of project implementation has slowed down considerably in the past six months; notably, the major civil works packages are yet to be launched," the World Bank noted.

As such, the World Bank warned that the Cebu BRT project "will not be able to complete a substantial amount of balance activities within the current closing date" or loan expiry on Sept. 30, 2026.

While the Department of Transportation (DOTr) had "reconfirmed its commitment to effective implementation of the project," the World Bank said the implementing agency "still needs to consider a restructuring of the project within the current project closing date in the coming months."

This means the World Bank is suggesting that the DOTr again request to extend the project loan that it green-lit back in 2014.

This World Bank financing was already restructured several times—in 2021 and 2023—due to project delays.

Out of the $116-million International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan for this project aimed at helping Cebu City—the country's oldest—reduce pollution and traffic, create jobs, as well as make the metropolis a more attractive investment destination, only $32.57 million or 28.1 percent have been disbursed to date.

The $25-million financing from the World Bank's Clean Technology Fund (CTF) remains untouched.

When this loan was approved one decade ago, the World Bank targeted completion of the then-planned 23-kilometer (km) Cebu BRT by 2020, to carry 330,000 passengers daily.

Similar to trains, BRT systems operate on dedicated lanes, hence offering faster, safer and more reliable transport for large numbers of passengers. But unlike traditional rail systems, BRTs use buses—making them a more affordable and simpler option to build, operate and maintain.