July 23, 2019 | 12:09 am [ bworldonline.com ]
Construction of infrastructure projects such as the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 and North Avenue Grand Central Station are currently on-going in Quezon City. -- CATHY ROSE A. GARCIA
QUEZON CITY will soon become the “most connected city” in the country in the coming years, thanks to the major public infrastructure projects such as the Skyway Stage 3, Metro Manila Subway and Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7).
Jettson P. Yu, founder and managing director of commercial real estate consultancy firm Prime Philippines, said these projects would boost Quezon City’s connectivity to other areas in Metro Manila.
“I think Quezon City in the next three to five years will be the most connected city in the Philippines,” he said during the Philippine Real Estate Investment Forum 2019 organized by Prime Philippines.
“Quezon City will also be the gateway of the north… The Skyway Stage 3 will also help connect Makati and Quezon City in just less than 15 minutes, so the way we see Quezon City, maybe in the next ten years or twenty years… it’s going to be a… highly connected city. Main railway stations will be completed in Quezon City, and not only that, it will be a place where people live, work, shop,” he explained.
The Skyway Stage 3 project is an 18.68-kilometer elevated toll road that will connect Gil Puyat (formerly Buendia) in Makati City to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) toll plaza in Balintawak, Quezon City. This is being constructed by Citra Central Expressway Corp. (CCEC), a unit of San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
The Metro Manila Subway project will have its first three station along Mindanao Avenue, Tandang Sora, and North Avenue in Quezon City. This project is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Another major project is the 22-kilometer MRT-7 which will have 14 stations running from North Avenue in Quezon City to San Jose del Monte in Bulacan. This is also being developed by SMC.
These public infrastructure projects have prompted developers to launch new projects in Quezon City. Ayala Land, Inc. is continuing to develop its Vertis North development, near the North Avenue Grand Central Station that will host the MRT-3, MRT-7 and Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1.
DMCI Project Developers, Inc. earlier said it is spending around P7 billion on the construction of two more condominium projects in Quezon City this year, after seeing continued robust sales of existing condominiums in the area.
NEXT-GEN CITY
Meanwhile, Julius M. Guevara, vice-president for corporate planning at D.M. Wenceslao & Associates (DMWAI), said the company is positioning its flagship project Aseana City as the “next-generation city” of Metro Manila.
“Our tag line is Aseana City is the next generation city for Metro Manila… The city is not just about entertainment and casinos. It’s going to be a full-blown CBD [central business district] and sustainable and sufficient, and inclusive… and we are creating a very diverse CBD,” he during the same forum.
Aseana City is a mixed-use development in Parañaque City being developed by the DMWAI. Projects include Aseana One, Aseana Two, Aseana Three, and MidPark Towers. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
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