Despite delays, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon on Tuesday assured that the MRT-7, connecting Metro Manila and Bulacan, and the common station for the LRT-1, MRT-3, and MRT-7 train lines will be operational by 2027.

Prior to the approval of his appointment in the Committee on Appointments as DOTR Secretary, Dizon said that it was the department's goal to finish the common station and MRT-7 by the end of President Ferdinand Marcos' term.

"These projects, the common station, MRT-7, and the connection of LRT-1 and MRT-3, have been ongoing for 15 years. It's been more than a decade, almost 15 years. I think within the term of the President, all these projects will be finished and operational," Dizon said.

Dizon said that the department is looking for a new contractor to finish the common station, after its previous contractor, BF Corporation and Foresight Development and Surveying Company Consortium was terminated due to 'excessive delays'.

"Our goal is to look for a new contractor to finish the common station this 2025 and our timeline is that it'll open together with the MRT-7, so that by 2027 it will be finished," Dizon added.

The MRT-7 was first launched in April 2016 under a public-private partnership between the then-Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), San Miguel Corp. (SMC), and then-President Benigno Aquino III, yet faced delays due to right-of-way issues.

Meanwhile, the common station was first proposed in 2009 yet faced several delays due to disputes over the station's location, the COVID-19 pandemic, and concerns from key stakeholders. Yzabela Velez-White/DMS