EDSA walkway agreements signed

THE agreements on EDSA Greenways, a project to build an elevated walkway along Metro Manila's busiest roadway, were signed Monday by the Department of Transportation (DoTr) and its partners in the public and private sectors.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) and memorandum of agreement (MoA) for EDSA Greenways were signed by the DoTr, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), Philippine National Police (PNP), Smart-PLDT, Eastern Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (ETPI), and Converge.

The signing of the agreements aims to speed up the project, whose completion date was moved twice, in 2022 and 2024.

The new target is 2027.

«We want to fast-track this project to be able to connect several pedestrian networks to train stations along EDSA and enhance the overall urban environment and transport connectivity in the identified areas,» Bautista said.

Under the MoU, there will be a livelihood assistance package for residents and communities that will be affected by the project.

The DoTr-PNP agreement explores ways to train, build capacity, and protect vulnerable sectors such as women and children.

Smart-PLDT, ETPI and Converge signed the MoA with the Transportation department to implement the relocation of utilities and cables, which requires Right-of-Way contracts.