The Department of Transportation awarded a P37-billion contract to Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. for the electrical and mechanical systems and track works of the Malolos-Clark Railway Project and the North-South Railway Project.
DOTr Undersecretary for administration and finance Kim Robert De Leon notified Mitsubishi that the agency accepted the contract amount of P37 billion for the electrical, mechanical and rail components.
De Leon asked Mitsubishi to submit performance security within 28 days in accordance with the conditions of the contract.
Funded by the Asian Development Bank, the Malolos-Clark Railway Project or the PNR Clark Phase 2 is the second leg of the North-South Commuter Rail Project (Calamba-Clark) which aims to link cities and municipalities in Southern Luzon, Metro Manila and Central Luzon and help spur economic activities in the provinces.
Once completed, the 53-kilometer PNR Clark Phase 2 is expected to cut travel time between Malolos, Bulacan and Clark, Pampanga from 1.5 hours to just 30 minutes. It will also feature the country’s first Airport Railway Express Service which will connect Makati to Clark International Airport in just 55 minutes.
The PNR Clark Phase 2, which is expected to be completed by June 2025, will have six train stations in Calumpit, Apalit, San Fernando, Angeles, Clark and Clark Airport. The rail stations will include multimodal facilities that will allow seamless transfer of commuters from public utility vehicles to trains.
The DOTr said that apart from the 7,000 direct jobs that opened during the construction phase of the PNR Clark Phase 2, the project would open 3,000 more job opportunities once it becomes operational.
The 38-km. phase 1 of PNR Clark (Tutuban-Malolos) will have 10 stations and will traverse the cities of Manila, Caloocan, Valenzuela and Meycauayan and the municipalities of Marilao, Bocaue, Balagtas and Guiguinto and Malolos City.
Meanwhile, the whole 147-km. NSCR line will have 35 stations from Calamba, Laguna to Clark and operate 464 train cars, with 58 eight-car train set configuration.
The P777.55-billion NSCR System is the single largest infrastructure project funded by the ADB and is the longest greenfield commuter railway project to be financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency.
The DOTr estimated that the whole NSCR line would generate over 25,000 direct jobs during construction and another 10,000 jobs upon operation.
Mitsubishi is one of the Japanese companies that signed letters of intent on investment projects in the Philippines during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s state visit to Japan last week.
The conglomerate expressed its intention to participate in infrastructure activities, transportation, commercial and residential real estate development and mass housing projects in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Japan International Cooperation Agency also agreed to lend an additional 400 billion yen or P166 billion for the construction of North-South Commuter Railway Project (Malolos-Tutuban) II and the North-South Commuter Railway Extension Project II.