The government expects to finalize a loan agreement with China to finance three flagship railway projects initiated by the Duterte administration amounting to P276 billion by the first quarter of 2023, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Monday.
Bautista told the participants of the 2022 EJAP Infrastructure Forum in Pasay City that he had met with China Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian who agreed to restart negotiations for the funding of PNR South Long-Haul Project, Subic-Clark Railway and Mindanao Railway Project.
Bautista said while the availability of the Chinese loan for the three railway projects expired on June 30, the Department of Finance resumed talks with Beijing on the renewal of the loan agreement.
“We are expecting that we should be able to finalize the loan by early next year, then we can start working [on] the projects,” Bautista said.
“We have already worked on the technical aspects of the projects. It’s a matter of getting the contractor and finalizing the contract with them,” he said.
The three PNR rail projects are the among biggest components of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program, along with the Metro Manila Subway Project funded by Japan and the Malolos-Clark Railway and South Commuter Railway financed by the Asian Development Bank.
The DoTr in January 2022 signed a P142-billion contract with Chinese companies to build the first 380 kilometers of the Philippine National Railway Bicol Project from Banlic, Calamba to Daraga, Albay.
The agency through former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade signed the design-build contract with the joint venture of China Railway Group Ltd., China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group Co. Ltd. and China Railway Engineering Consulting Group Co. Ltd. The agreement covers the design, construction and electromechanical works of the project.
The first 380 kilometers of PNR Bicol will span 39 cities and municipalities, four provinces and two regions. It will involve the construction of 23 stations, 230 bridges, 10 passenger tunnels and a 70-hectare depot in San Pablo, Laguna.
Meanwhile, the P83-billion Mindanao Railway Project: Tagum-Davao-Digos segment is expected to reduce travel time from Tagum City, Davao del Norte to Digos City, Davao del Sur from 3.5 hours to 1.3 hours once it starts operations.
The P51-billion Subic-Clark Railway Project is expected to provide high-capacity freight service to support the industrial areas along the Subic-Clark corridor by serving as the link to the airport at Clark Freeport Zone and the seaport at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
Meanwhile, Bautista announced the upgrade and expansion projects of several regional airports that would amount to P1 trillion to be funded by the private sector and the government.
Bautista said 10 regional airports would be upgraded, expanded and operated under a Public-Private Partnership scheme.
These include airports in Bohol, Laguindingan, Bicol, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Davao, Bacolod, Kalibo, Busuanga and Siargao.
Bautista also said the government would build an additional four new regional airports in Dumaguete, Siargao, Zamboanga and Masbate.