The Metro Integrated Transport Terminal (MITT) started operation on Monday giving commuters from all over Albay province the experience of a world-class transport terminal. Legazpi Mayor Noel Rosal led the formal opening of the state of the art terminal l at the corner of Tahao and Alternate roads in a simple ceremony attended by top executives of the province.

“This terminal will raise the confidence of investors in Legazpi as the prime city of Bicol,” said Rosal. He labeled the P300-million facility put up by private company LKY Group on a 25-year build-operate-and-transfer (BOT) arrangement as a “futuristic terminal” that will spur development in the whole of Bicol.

Photo by Mr. Simon Listana

“Everyone is excited over this futuristic terminal. Even those living in far-flung villages believe that this terminal will bring progress to them,” he said. The new Legazpi terminal will centralize all forms of land transportation that pass through Legazpi, including buses from Manila going to the Visayas and jeepneys and filcabs (FX taxis) that bring commuters to various cities and towns of practically the whole Bicol.

Since the 3.9 hectare facility expects human traffic of more than 80,000 every day, Rosal said the commercial area now being completed to house restaurants, bars and retail stores will definitely bustle with economic activity. This early, fastfood giant Jollibee and sister company Chowking are preparing to construct stores in the terminal. Jollibee is expected to put up its biggest store in Legazpi which will be its fourth in the city.

SM Group’s Save More, meanwhile, has signified its intent to become the operator of the new terminal’s supermarket, a major development that made Rosal ecstatic “This will be the new center of business in Legazpi,” he said. Rosal said the formal opening of the terminal was just in time for the arrival of tourists for the region’s Ibalong Festival.

The three-term mayor added that the new terminal “will beef up the perception of organized government” in Legazpi. “Lahat ng papasok na tao, anumang klase sila, will enter and exit Legazpi through this terminal. Pagpasok pa lang nila, they will already be impressed with this facility. Masasabi nila, ‘O, talagang iba ang Legazpi.’ There will be discussion of possible investments. Malaki ang magagawa nito in showing the people what kind of governance we have in Legazpi.”

Rosal clarified that the project to modernize Legazpi’s antiquated terminal was first offered to local business groups, but it was the LKY Group, a company from Sorsogon City, which responded to the challenge. He said because of the vision of the LKY Group, what used to be a flood-prone area populated by squatters will now become the new central business district.

Rosal pointed to the Ibalong Center for Recreation, the only convention center in Legazpi, which he said will be restored soon. The Ibalong Center is a stone’s throw away from the new terminal. Rosal added that because of the new terminal, business owners from other parts of the country are now eager to invest in Legazpi City. (MSA, PNA/PIA)

Source: Philippine Information Agency, Accessed October 5, 2009