A new city will soon emerge in San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan province with the construction of Metro Rail Transit Line-7 (MRT-7), which is expected to start next year.

The Cabinet-level National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee said a consortium led by Universal LRT Corp., the project’s proponent, had committed to embark on an ambitious real estate development in San Jose del Monte around the planned site for the final passenger station of MRT-7.

A staff of the Neda-ICC privy to negotiations said companies could now submit an offer topping the proposal of Universal LRT Corp., which included massive real estate development, under the so-called Swiss Challenge.

He said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, chairman of Neda ICC, approved the Swiss Challenge for MRT-7 in the first week of April this year.

Documents showed that the consortium of Universal LRT Corp. agreed to build MRT-7, a 22-kilometer mostly elevated rail track from North Ave. in Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan and a 22-km six-lane access road from San Jose del Monte to the North Expressway Tollgate in Bocaue, Bulacan at a cost of $1.235 billion under a 25-year build-operate-transfer scheme.

Of the amount, $308.75 million or 25 percent will represent equity and $926.25 million or 75 percent as loans from financial institutions.

The access road is seen to become a part of the planned Circumferential Road 6 (C-6), a 98-km road that will connect South Luzon Expressway to the North Luzon Expressway, without passing the highly congested central parts of Metro Manila.

Under the plan, the $1 billion C-6 will run along the Laguna de Bay in the South toward the eastern part of Metro Manila and Rizal province up to Bulacan, passing near the planned intermodal station of MRT-7 in Barangay Tungkong Mangga in San Jose del Monte.

Ruben Reinoso, director of the Neda Infrastructure Staff, however, said there was no formal proposal yet on the ambitious C-6 project, which he claimed remained a concept to this day.

On top of the cost for the MRT-7 project, Universal LRT’s real estate partners led by the SM group have committed to pour in more than $2.5 billion for the development of a new city encompassing an area of around 200 hectares in Barangay Tungkong Mangga.

The consortium is composed of Siemens AG of Germany; Alstom Corp. of France; China National Technical Import and Export Corp.; EL International Holdings of Hong Kong; Earth Tech of Tyco International USA; Premier Gold of Japan; Redford Assets Ltd. of the SM Group; EEI Corp. of the Yuchengco Group; Penta Capital Management Corp., Merlin Pacific Capital Inc., TCGI Engineers and private investors such as George Go and former finance secretary Roberto de Ocampo.

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