First Balfour, the Lopez-led engineering and construction firm, is planning to roll out electric buses and develop a supporting infrastructure, potentially a bus rapid transit system in Iloilo City.
The transport plan, according to the firm, aims to support the city’s transformation into one of the country’s most livable and highly urbanized cities.
“If implemented, the First Balfour project will help the city attain a number of objectives such as reducing carbon emissions and traffic congestion, promoting local tourism, creating new jobs, and improving the local government’s delivery of service,” it said.
First Balfour discussed the proposal during a recent meeting with Mayor Jerry Treñas and other city government officials.
“The transport sector is considered a major contributor to climate change because this sector is dominated by vehicles that use mainly gasoline and diesel as fuel. When burned, these fossil fuels release massive amounts of carbon dioxide, one of the heat-trapping greenhouse gases behind global warming and climate change,” the firm said.
“The provision of an efficient mass transport system is also expected to reduce vehicle volume on the road, ultimately helping to address traffic congestion in the city,” it added.
First Balfour is hoping that its proposal can be incorporated as an enhancement to city’s Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP).
First Balfour considers the transport infrastructure segment one of the core markets it serves. As a leading engineering and construction firms, it also specializes in serving three other core markets: power and energy, specialized buildings, and water infrastructure.IMT
