The government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) jointly inspected the Malolos-Clark Railway Project (MCRP) on Monday to ensure its swift completion, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Monday.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, who leads the DOF, has been inspecting major infrastructure projects since 2024 to strengthen oversight on official development assistance (ODA) projects. Previous inspections included the Metro Manila Subway, the LRT-1 Cavite Extension and the Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project.
The MCRP is a 52.65-kilometer (km) segment of the larger 147.26-km North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System Project. The entire NSCR will span 35 stations, connecting the National Capital Region, Region III, and Region IV-A.
“More than site inspections, every time we go out and see the projects by ourselves is a renewed affirmation of a vision we all share: a Philippines that connects our people better and creates more opportunities for them,” Recto said during the site visit at the MCRP Depot.
At a total cost of P873.6 billion, the NSCR System is the largest infrastructure project the ADB has financed in the Philippines and the entire Asia-Pacific region. The project is co-financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
“That scale alone speaks volumes of the trust and confidence the ADB has in our country and in the Filipino people’s future,” Recto said.
The MCRP segment will link Malolos, Bulacan and Clark Freeport in Pampanga, via a commuter line and an airport express railway to Clark International Airport and Clark Green City. It is designed to serve New Clark City’s estimated future population of 1.2 million.
As of June 2025, the MCRP was 42.4 per cent complete. Once operational by 2028, the railway is expected to cut the almost three-hour bus ride between Malolos and Clark to just one hour by train.
Recto said the project has already generated over 10,000 direct construction jobs.
Another ADB-supported segment of the NSCR is the 56.86−km South Commuter Railway Project (SCRP), which will connect Manila to Calamba. When operational, it is projected to reduce travel time from up to two hours by bus to 45 minutes by train.
The entire NSCR System Project is expected to carry 800,000 passengers per day when fully operational and generate 350,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs.
“This project is nothing less than a genuine economic transformation,” Recto said.
“It is the backbone of the Luzon Economic Corridor, accelerating trade and investment… This will be one of our main vehicles to lift more Filipinos out of poverty,” he said.
Recto vowed to safeguard the ADB’s trust with accountability and good governance, citing President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) as a guarantee that projects would endure.
Following the inspection, Recto met with ADB officials, including Vice President of East and Southeast Asia and Pacific Scott Morris and newly appointed Country Director Andrew Jeffries.
Jeffries described the Philippines as a “particularly special and important relationship,” underscoring the ADB’s confidence in the country as a committed and reliable partner.
Beyond infrastructure, the ADB also voiced strong support for expanding cooperation in education, health, agriculture, energy and digitalization.
The ADB is the Philippines’ second-largest ODA partner, accounting for $10.40 billion or 28.70 per cent of total ODA financing as of March 2025.
The bank is funding 25 projects under the Infrastructure Flagship Projects (IFPs) to support the “Build, Better, More” Program, including the Bataan–Cavite Interlink Bridge Project and the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project.
