The government is on track to award the contract that completes the long-delayed Unified Grand Central Station to the private operator of LRT-1 in early 2026. In an interview with Manila Bulletin, Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is finalizing the contract for the station and plans to award it between January and March. The chosen contractor is Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), which recently submitted an unsolicited proposal to finish the project.
Batan did not reveal the proposal’s value, noting that it is still undergoing further evaluation. He added that the proposal must first be reviewed by the Economy and Development Council (ED Council), chaired by President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr., for approval since this is a public-private partnership (PPP).
LRMC is currently the only proponent showing interest in completing the Unified Grand Central Station. The company’s resolve appears steady even after one of its major shareholders previously explored selling its stake.
LRMC is a joint venture comprising Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. (MPLRC), Ayala Corp.’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. (AC Infra), Sumitomo Corp., and the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Investments Holdings (Philippines) PTE Ltd. (MIHPL).
Last month, business magnate Manuel V. Pangilinan disclosed that he is weighing options to divest Metro Pacific’s stake in the operator due to ongoing losses.
If LRMC assumes responsibility for the Unified Grand Central Station in Quezon City, it would bring relief to many commuters after years of delays that have hampered a project designed to streamline travel across Metro Manila.
In May, the DOTr issued a notice of termination to the project’s contractors, the BF Corp. and Foresight Development and Surveying Co. (BFC-FDSC), due to persistent delays. The contract for Area A of the station, awarded in 2019 for ₱2.78 billion, aimed to deliver completion by 2021.
The Unified Grand Central Station is divided into three segments: Area A connects LRT-1 with MRT-3; Area B links Areas A and C; and Area C houses the platform for the under-construction MRT-7. If LRMC wins the award, Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez told Manila Bulletin that the station is still planned to open before the end of President Marcos Jr.’s term in 2028, with a target of 2027 to align with MRT-7’s operations.
The station is planned to sit along North Avenue and will offer commuters seamless access to LRT-1, MRT-3, and MRT-7 via a 13,700-square-meter concourse. An intermodal system beneath the facility is also slated to accommodate buses, jeepneys, and taxis, facilitating easier transfers across multiple modes of public transportation.
