The Philippines and China signed a P14.38-billion contract for the project management consultancy of the 639-kilometer Philippine National Railways South Long-Haul Project.
China Railway Design Corp. and Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co. Ltd. Consortium of China won the bidding for the P14.38-billion management consultancy of PNR Bicol.
“I am very happy with our partnership with the Chinese Consortium, as this is our first contract with China for our railways sector. I am hoping that we continue this arrangement for more projects, including our Clark to Subic Railway project that I am hoping to be signed before the end of the year,” said Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.
The contract was exchanged between Tugade and CRDC chairman of the board Liu Weiqun on Tuesday at Malacañang Palace and was witnessed by President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The National Economic and Development Authority board earlier approved the financing of the PNR Bicol Project through an official development assistance from China.
The PNR Bicol Project is one of the flagship projects of the Duterte administration under the “Build, Build, Build” program. Upon completion, the PNR Bicol Project will connect Metro Manila, Region IV-A (Calabarzon) and Region V (Bicol), reducing travel time from Manila to Legazpi City from 13 hours to under 6 hours.
“The contract marks a milestone for the PNR South Long-Haul Project. Hereby, I commit that the CRDC and WACC Consortium will fully dedicate to the project, allocate the best resources, and do our best to perform the PMC services according to the contract stipulations and the requirements of the DOTr and PNR,” Liu said.
“We will contribute to make this important government-to-government cooperation project a high-quality elaborated project,” he said.
As with other ODA-financed projects, the DOTr engaged a PMC or a general consultant to provide consultancy services on technical and commercial matters concerning a project.
Being a China ODA-financed contract, the selection of the PMC was based on a list of qualified and experienced bidders, as endorsed by the Chinese government.
For the PNR Bicol Project, the CRDC-WACC Consortium will conduct all pre-construction surveys (topographic, geotechnical, hydrological, parcellary, environmental, etc.), preparation of designs for bidding, preparation of bidding documents, bidding assistance, construction supervision, and defects liability period (warranty) supervision.
