The Department of Transportation said Tuesday it is working with the government of Japan for new railway infrastructure projects in the Philippines.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, during the 14th High-Level Joint Committee Meeting on Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation between the two countries in Tokyo, expressed his gratitude to Japan for economic packages and assistance in the construction and modernization of the country’s railway infrastructure.
“The Department of Transportation expresses its sincere gratitude to Japan’s latest economic operations package to the Philippines, consisting of official development assistance of private sector investment of 600 billion Japanese yen in Japanese fiscal years 2022-2023,” Bautista said.
“With the Metro Manila Subway, the North-South Commuter Railway and the MRT-3 Rehabilitation and Maintenance Projects now ongoing construction and implementation, the DOTr is now working on its next batch of railway cooperation projects with JICA,” he said.
Bautista said JICA funded the ongoing feasibility study of the New Clark City Extension of the North-South Commuter Railway.
He said the agency requested for assistance for the feasibility study of the Metro Manila Subway Project’s second phase in the high-level meeting with Japanese officials.
Bautista also mentioned the “possible financing for certain components of the LRT-2 Mid-Life Rehabilitation Project, which will be explored pursuant to an ongoing LRTA-funded Feasibility Study.”
He said that following the recently-signed pact with the Japanese government, the Philippine government would soon identify new railway projects for the formulation of a 30-year Railway Master Plan for the Greater Capital Region.
JICA expressed its continued commitment to supporting the Philippines’ development agenda and raised opportunities for further work in sectors such as energy, peace in Mindanao and public-private partnerships.
The delegation is composed of the Secretaries of the Department of Finance, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Transportation, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Energy and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority