Megawide to start Baguio terminal construction next year

MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. is targeting the first quarter of 2027 to begin construction of its P1.19-billion Baguio City transport terminal project, a company official said.

“The next step is the design phase. So, now, we are starting that process. It is very challenging because of the terrain. We are finding the most efficient way to design it,” Megawide Chief Business Development Officer Jaime Raphael C. Feliciano told reporters on the sidelines of an event on March 11.

In January, the company signed a lease agreement with the Baguio City Government to implement the project, following the receipt of the notice of award last year.

“We are hoping by Q1 of next year we can start (construction). We just have two challenges right now,” he said.

Mr. Feliciano said one challenge is the transfer of the waste-sorting facility at the site, which the city must relocate after identifying a new location.

Megawide is also arranging temporary housing for about 27 families who will be affected by the project.

“We will provide them temporary housing or shelter. We will also find ways for them to be able to work in the project, for example construction or supervisors or whatever their skill sets allow them,” he said.

The project is expected to be operational by the second half of 2028, Mr. Feliciano added.

The Baguio City Integrated Terminal is designed to handle up to 25,000 passengers daily and will initially serve seven southbound routes, including La Union, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila, and Cavite via the planned South Luzon Integrated Terminal Exchange.

The terminal will be built on a five-hectare property in Barangay Dontogan, about five kilometers from Baguio City proper.

The project is expected to ease traffic congestion in the city by relocating provincial buses and UV Express vans outside the central district. — Ashley Erika O. Jose