Reputable construction companies should be at the helm of these game-changers…
Big-ticket infrastructure projects are game-changers that will give the Philippines a shot at becoming a developed country.
Their completion will significantly improve transportation, link the farmers and fishermen to their market, and reduce the cost of goods and services.
They should be world-class facilities and far removed from the corruption scandals surrounding flood control projects.
Reputable construction companies should be at the helm of these game-changers―not firms with dubious intentions and certainly not district engineers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) who are adept at getting kickbacks.
The North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System Project, the P488.5-billion, 33-kilometer Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), the Bataan–Cavite Interlink Bridge (BCIB) Project and the 672-kilometer Davao Public Transport Modernization Project are some of multi-billion peso, mega facilities that are either under construction or in the pipeline.
Fortunately and because of foreign funding, these huge infrastructure projects are strictly monitored and their progress assessed periodically.
Just this Monday, the government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) jointly inspected the Malolos-Clark Railway Project (MCRP) to ensure its swift completion.
The MCRP is a segment of the bigger 147-kilometer, ₱873.62-billion NSCR that runs from Clark to Calamba, Laguna province.
The ADB is the Philippines’ second-largest official development assistance partner, accounting for $10.40 billion or 28.70 percent of total ODA financing as of March 2025.
The government through Finance Secretary Ralph Recto has been inspecting major infrastructure projects since 2024 to strengthen oversight on ODA projects. Earlier inspections included the Metro Manila Subway, the LRT-1 Cavite Extension and the Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project.
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).
The MCRP segment will link Malolos, Bulacan and Clark Freeport in Pampanga, through 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.
The MCRP as of June 2025 was 42.4 percent complete. The railway is expected to cut the almost three-hour bus ride between Malolos and Clark to just one hour by train once operational by 2028.
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.”
Another big infrastructure project, meanwhile, is drawing the interest of foreign builders. Early this week, a Chinese company submitted the lowest bid for the land component of the BCIB project.
The DPWH said eight qualified bidders submitted financial bids for Contract Package 1 (CP1). This refers to the construction of the Bataan Land Approach, covering about 6.89 kilometers of ramps.
The bidders included China Harbour Engineering Company, which offered P4.87 billion; Beijing Urban Construction Group Co. Ltd. (P5.87 billion); and China Wu Yi Co., Ltd. (P5.87 billion).
Also expressing interest in the contract are Shou Road and Bridge Group Co. Ltd. (P6.002 billion); the joint venture of Human Road & Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd.; China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. (P6.52 billion); the POSCO E&C-Sta. Clara Joint Venture (P7.04 billion); the EEI-PMI Joint Venture (P7.19 billion); and D.M. Consunji Inc. (P7.82 billion).
The presence of notable foreign and local construction companies in the bidding process guarantees the work quality that we can expect from the BCIB―a far cry from the shoddy jobs and shady deals involving the country’s flood control projects.
The BCIB project is strategic. It will provide a permanent road link between the provinces of Bataan and Cavite, the key missing link in the road network of the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions.
It will serve as an alternative route from north Luzon to south Luzon without traveling through the heavy congested roadways of NCR.
The BCIB, the NSCR and other major infrastructure are critical projects needed by an expanding economy. They should not go the way of substandard flood control projects.
E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or extrastory2000@gmail.com
