North Rail project likely completed by 2009

President Gloria Macapacal Arroyo said Thursday she expects the North Rail rehabilitation project, a 32-kilometer stretch of railway that runs from Caloocan in Metro Manila to Bulacan, to be completed in 2009. Arroyo said in an interview with radio station dzRH that residents who were living near the railways of the $503-million project had been relocated, paving the way for construction to begin at the site. The national government will finance $100 million of the $503-million project. The contract was awarded to the China National Machinery and Equipment Corp. (CNMEC) using a loan secured from China's Export-Import Bank (Eximbank). "China financed the Northrail project. Because of China, we can start going to Clark in no time by 2009. And by then, South Rail will be well under construction to boost tourism)," she said. - GMANews.TV