By the end of the year, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) says it will know the viability of decongesting Metro Manila roads through an east-west ferry system that will connect Manila Bay and Laguna Lake through Pasig River.
The establishment of the Manila Bay–Pasig River–Laguna Lake Ferry (MAPALLAF) project could arise via a public-private partnership, said Assistant Secretary Leonel de Velez of the DOTr at the Asia and the Pacific Transport Forum. GMA News Online reports that the ongoing feasibility study is currently assessing the passenger demand for this mode of transport.
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“Before we make important infrastructure investments, similar to our railways or airports, we need to conduct passenger surveys,” explained de Velez. “We need to understand how many people will actually use the system.
“That’s currently what we're doing. It all stems from the demand. So it all starts from how many people will be using this ferry system... If we have 100,000 passengers, then that will determine the number of ferry stations, that will determine the number of the ferry boats… that’s when we will determine the cost.”
Water from Laguna Lake feeds into Pasig River from the east, then flows westward and drains into Manila Bay. The river is roughly 25km and completely bisects Metro Manila. The current Pasig River Ferry system has 12 stations in the cities of Pasig, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Manila.
“As we know, we have the North-South Commuter Railway. We have the Metro Manila Subway,” said de Velez. “If you see the maps, those are primarily north-south corridors. We do not have as many as what we call east-west corridors for mass transportation, and the Pasig River naturally is there and it traverses east-west.”
Electric ferries as sustainable water transport
The DOTr is also studying the use of electric ferries, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) expressing willingness to finance the project.
“Some examples of what they have done in other countries is they have actually financed ship vessels,” said de Velez, as quoted by ABS-CBN News. “They did this also in Bangkok. The ADB lent the private company money to buy and build new electric ferries to serve the river. This is one of the possible areas that ADB is exploring.”
As part of the study, the DOTr is also looking into a possible energy source to power these electric ferries.
