The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is pursuing a cable car technology that will connect Taytay town of Rizal to Antipolo City, the first in the Philippines once it is given a go-signal to construct and operate.
DOTr Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said the pre-feasibility study was already completed in the first half of this year through a funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and in the next months, the detailed feasibility study will start.
“We are pursuing cable car technology in our mixed transportation solutions for the National Capital Region. We have completed the pre-feasibility study for our first and pilot cable car project and the next step is the detailed feasibility study,” said Batan in an interview during the Build Better More Infrastructure Forum at New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.
The detailed feasibility study, which Batan said will also be funded by the ADB, will cover the identification of the number of passengers and the cost of the entire project.
Why Antipolo to Taytay?
Batan explained that the cable car technology that the DOTr is studying will complement the proposed construction of the Metro Rail Transit 4, its last station in the eastern part of Metro Manila was proposed to be in Taytay town.
The MRT-4 project is a 10-station elevated railway project that will connect Ortigas Center to Taytay town of Rizal, where the end station would be situated, specifically near the new Taytay public market.
“We know that Antipolo is very dense, there are a lot of residences and there are also a lot of economic activities. So it will be complimentary to MRT- 4 by connecting it to Antipolo City. And that’s where the idea of the cable car project came up,” said Batan.
“We just need to do further study that we will be working on towards the end of the year,” he added.
Another one in Baguio?
Last month, DOTr Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said he already gave a go-signal for the conduct of a feasibility study on installing self-driving cable cars in Baguio City that would be installed inside the Camp John Hay.
"The Zippar or self-driven cable cars to be tested in Baguio City, could be a game-changer for urban public transport while presenting an ideal green transport model. But we choose to temper our excitement with the need to first undertake the requisite feasibility studies,” said Bautista.
But Batan said the cable car in Baguio City is an initiative of the local government unit that the DOTr fully supports.