Japan pledges P93-B loan to PHL commuter railway project

Japan said it will lend ¥241.991 billion or approximately P93.457 billion for the 36.7-kilometer commuter railway project connecting the nearby province of Malolos, Bulacan to Tutuban in Manila.

 

“This project aims to strengthen the transport network and ease serious traffic congestion in Metro Manila by constructing a commuter railway between Malolos and Tutuban (a part of the ‘North-South Commuter Railway Project’) and contribute to a more secure and sustainable economic development through promotion of investments,” the Japanese Embassy said.

 

The deal was made by Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario on Friday, in the presence of President Benigno S.C Aquino III and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was in the country to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

 

Abe earlier announced that Japan would cooperate constructively over the project, utilizing Japanese fund and technology.

 

“The North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project, Phase 1 is poised to be the single-biggest ODA (official development assistance) yen loan package ($2 billion) to date that Japan has given any development partner,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in August. 

 

The NCSR is the biggest railway project of the Aquino administration.

 

The second phase of the NCSR will be funded through a public-private partnership (PPP) deal which will cover commuter lines connecting Tutuban to southern Metro Manila, and a network further down Southern Luzon to the Bicol region.

 

This will spread out toward Legaspi City but will eventually have a branch line connecting Matnog, Sorsogon.

 

The PPP deal was approved by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in February. – Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/VS, GMA News