Senator Richard Gordon has proposed the creation of a railway system in Mindanao to spur economic growth and development in the second largest island in the country.
He said the creation of the Mindanao Railway Corp. is a crucial step in the government’s efforts to fully harness the natural and human resources of Mindanao.
“To invest money and time in the Mindanao Railway System would be risky beyond anything ever before attempted, but when it is completed, it would link the entire island of Mindanao, forever changing the nature of Mindanao’s politics and economy,” Gordon said.
Gordon has filed Senate Bill No. 103 which aims to create a Mindanao Railway Corp., an agency that would be authorized to establish and maintain an efficient railway system in the country’s southern region.
The measure proposed to give a 10-year national and local tax exemption to all properties, whether real or personal, that would be actually, directly, and exclusively used for the Mindanao Railway System.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia earlier said the Duterte administration plans to start work on the proposed big ticket project next year.
The feasibility study of the long-proposed 2,000-kilometer Mindanao Railway System is targeted to be completed in the third quarter of the year.
