Malolos-Clark Railway Project, biggest infra deal under Duterte, signed

October 8, 2020

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) signed the Duterte administration's biggest infrastructure program, three contracts for the 148 kilometer Malolos-Clark Railway Project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and co-financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)  in a virtual ceremony on Thursday.

"This project is, by far, the ADB’s largest-ever financing package for a single project. And, indeed, this project, is the single largest Build Build Build project to date in the history of the Duterte Administration," said Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.

“The signing of these contracts means the Malolos–Clark Railway Project construction will now go on full speed, helping the country’s economic revival over the next 12–24 months,” said ADB Director General for Southeast Asia Ramesh Subramaniam.

JICA will provide up to $2 billion in additional funding for the rolling stock and railway systems.

"I would like to thank, and we would like to thank the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for partnering with us in this monumental project," Tugade said.

Tugade said the signing of the agreements for the project ''is  a celebration of trust and confidence that you have given and is giving the Duterte administration."

Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said signed were the 28th, 29th, and 30th big-ticket railway contracts.

"Our 28th contract is for Contract Package N01, which covers the construction of 17 kilometers of elevated rail viaduct, including 7 balanced cantilever bridges, and 2 elevated steel framed station buildings, spanning the municipalities of Malolos and Calumpit in Bulacan, and Apalit and Minalin in Pampanga. The contractor for this package will be the Hyundai E&C-Megawide-Dongah Joint Venture," said Batan during the contract signing ceremony.

"Our 29th contract is for Package N02, which covers the construction of 16 kilometers of elevated viaduct structure, including 1 elevated station building, spanning the LGUs of Minalin, Sto. Tomas, and San Fernando in Pampanga. The contractor for this package will be the Acciona-Daelim Joint Venture," he said.

"Our 30th contract is for Package N03, which covers the construction of 12 kilometers of elevated viaduct structure, including 1 elevated station building, spanning the LGUs of San Fernando, Angeles, and Mabalacat in Pampanga. The contractor for this package will be the Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited," he added.

Batan said the construction for the more than P80 billion project is expected to start before the end of this year and will be partially operational by 2023.

"The three contract packages signed today are: Package one is the P28.4 billion, Package two is P33.7 billion and Package three is P22.8 billion," he said.

"We are starting construction by November - December this year with the mobilization of our three contractors with partial operability scheduled in 2023 and our full completion scheduled in 2025," he added.

The Malolos–Clark Railway Project will cut  travel time between Clark in northern Pampanga province and Manila from two to three hours by bus to one hour by train, with a maximum rail speed of up to 160 kilometers per hour.

This is part of the planned 163-km North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project, which aims to reduce road congestion in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces. Once completed by 2040, the entire NSCR is expected to transport up to one million passengers daily. Robina Asido/DMS