Manila's major infrastructure delays frustrate commuters

Manila

WHILE Philippine tycoons argue over a typing error in a highway bid and whose shopping mall benefits the most from a train station, commuters including Aneka Rodriguez are paying the price.

A 47-kilometre expressway connecting Manila to the southern provinces has been delayed by a San Miguel Corp appeal to President Benigno Aquino after its bid was rejected on a technicality. Meanwhile, SM Prime Holdings Inc, the group of billionaire Henry Sy, and Ayala Land Inc are fighting over where to build a train station, both seeking to place it closer to their respective malls 600 metres from each other.

Caught in the middle are 22.7 million people who live and work in Metro Manila, where inadequate infrastructure and recurring flooding produce gridlock and stunt the economy. The project delays threaten Mr Aquino's plan to lure US$11.6 billion of investment in roads, railways…