A rail system linking the province of Rizal with the eastern part of Metro Manila is nearing reality as the signing of a contract between the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Spain-based design firm IDOM Consulting Engineering, Architecture, SA (IDOM) is set to happen today (Friday, October 1).

In a Viber message to reporters on Friday, the DOTr said the design contract of the rail project, to be dubbed the Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4), will have a total cost of around $28.967 million (around P1.4 billion).

The DOTr, in a press release, said IDOM initially received the Notice of Award for the project on September 17.

The firm will be tasked as the “detailed architectural and engineering design consultant” of the project and will prepare the MRT-4’s preliminary design, detailed engineering and tender designs, the loan processing documents, financial and economical assessments, the project/loan safeguards documents, and bidding documents.

“Under the agreement, IDOM is also tasked to determine the proper mode of transportation along the alignment and provide the methodology on ridership validation,” the DOTr said.

The project, to be funded through official development assistance (ODA) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is a proposed mass-transit railway system that will cut across the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan, Quezon, Pasig, and municipalities of Cainta and Taytay in Rizal to address the “massive traffic problem and limited road capacities” in the area.

Once operational, it said the MRT-4 is seen to boost “employment opportunities, livelihood, and business opportunities” in its covered areas.

The project’s design stage, it said, is slated to begin in the last quarter of 2021 while early works for the project are set to begin by the second quarter of 2022.