ADB approves $2.75B financing for railway
By Angela Celis
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday approved financing of up to $2.75 billion for the construction of the Malolos-Clark Railway Project, which is the single largest infrastructure project financing by the multilateral agency.
The 53.1-kilometer (km) elevated passenger railway is part of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project, a 163-km suburban railway network stretching from New Clark City to Calamba, Laguna. The NSCR project is expected to be completed by 2025.
The Malolos-Clark Railway, with a maximum rail speed of up to 160 km per hour, will connect Malolos to Clark economic zone and Clark International Airport in Central Luzon. The project is expected to be partially operational from 2022.
The railway is estimated to service about 342,000 passengers daily along the Manila-Clark corridor and up to 696,000 passengers per day to Calamba by 2025. It is seen to cut travel time from Metro Manila to Clark airport to less than one hour by rail, compared with two to three hours by car or bus today.
“It will be ADB’s single largest infrastructure project financing ever, and from a development perspective, we are pleased this investment is taking place in ADB’s host country. The project, combined with other investments in light rail transit, metro rail transit, and subway systems, will bring back the culture of rail transport in Metro Manila,” said Takehiko Nakao, ADB president.
ADB will be financing civil works of the Malolos-Clark Railway Project, including the stations, bridges and viaducts for the elevated railway alignment, and a tunnel leading to the underground station at Clark airport. It will also assist the government in using global standards for procurement and environmental and resettlement safeguards.
The project is cofinanced with up to $2 billion by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which will finance the rolling stock and the railway systems.
“Our cofinancing partnership with JICA allows both our institutions to combine our expertise and knowledge in building a world-class railway in the Philippines,” Markus Roesner, ADB principal transport specialist for Southeast Asia, said.
The project includes the construction of two rail segments: a 51.2-km section connecting Malolos City, Bulacan to Clark, and a 1.9-km extension connecting the NSCR to the Blumentritt Station in Manila, where an elevated interchange station for Light Rail Transit line 1 will be built.
The rail stations will include multimodal facilities, allowing commuters to easily transfer from public buses and jeepneys to the trains. The underground station at the Clark International Airport will provide a short connection to upcoming and future airport terminals.
The project will have seven stations: Calumpit, Apalit, San Fernando, Angeles, Clark, Clark airport and Blumentritt.
“Once the entire NSCR line is complete, the country will have a railway line from Calamba, Laguna, all the way to Clark International Airport. The entire NSCR is expected to serve 350,000 passengers daily during its first year of partial operations, and one million passengers daily upon full operations,” Goddes Hope Libiran, Department of Transportation assistant secretary, said.
Libiran said there are 2,000 project-affected families and that the right-of-way acquisition is already 80 percent clear.
Source: Malaya.com.ph