The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Economic managers bared three flagship projects—the construction of a new terminal for Clark International Airport, the Mega Manila Subway System, and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) North and South rail lines—that President Duterte is banking to ease the local transportation problem.
President Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are set to sign in November an agreement that will pave the way for the construction of the Mega Manila Subway Project.
Japan has committed to provide $4 billion for the construction of the subway system that will connect Metro Manila’s major business districts and government centers and is expected to transport 370,000 passengers daily in its opening year.
It will have stations from Mindanao Avenue to FTI-Taguig that will reduce travel time from Quezon City to Taguig to just 31 minutes from the present one-and-a-half hours.
The subway stations are in Mindanao Avenue, North Avenue, Quezon Avenue, East Avenue, Anonas, Katipunan, Ortigas North, Ortigas South, Kalayaan Avenue, Bonifacio Global and Food Terminal Inc.
Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President Vince Dizon added the construction the new Clark terminal is planned to start this December with the contract expected for awarding in November.
Dizon said six bidders have already bought tender documents for the bidding of the new terminal building while some 20 local and foreign firms have expressed their interest to participate.
Clark International Airport Expansion Project aims to construct a new passenger terminal to accommodate eight million passengers annually as well as the construction and installation of all required associated facilities –both airside and landside, to support the operations of the new terminal.
The Clark International Airport is seen as an alternative gateway to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
“The cornerstone of the development of Clark is the international airport. We are expecting that eventually investors will set up business in Clark to decongest traffic in Metro Manila and promote growth in the countryside,” Dizon said.
The BCDA, in partnership with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), is offering engineering, procurement, and construction contracts of airport facilities, as well as the development of a new passenger terminal.
The P12.55- billion project involves the construction of a new passenger terminal to accommodate eight million passengers annually as well as the construction and installation of all required associated facilities.
The expansion of the Clark terminal will be the first project to be undertaken by the Duterte administration under the hybrid public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.
Under the scheme, the government will be in charge of building the facility and will turn over to the private sector its operation and maintenance.
Tugade has proposed the subway system be extended all the way to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to help promote ease of mobility for passengers going to and from the airport.
The construction of the Mega Manila Subway Project is set to start by the fourth quarter of 2019 and expected to be completed by 2024.
Right of way
The DOTr also seeks to complete the resettlement of informal settlers residing along the right of way of the proposed by one-and-a- half to two years.
Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Cesar Chavez said the right of way needs to be urgently addressed as it hampers the implementation of railway projects.
“We are allocating 1.5 to 2 years to complete the resettlement and acquisition of land area that are needed for the construction of PNR North and South lines,” he said.
Citing figures from the National Housing Authority (NHA), Chavez said that there are around 100,000 informal settlers living along the PNR line from Manila to Bicol region spanning more than 600 kilometers.
“From Manila to Batangas alone, there are 12,000 families. Calamba to Batangas 25,000 families and 400,000 families all the way from Quezon province to Bicol,” the DOTr official said.
“We are currently negotiating with the civil society groups and local government units to expedite the relocation of informal settlers,” he added.
Chavez said the DOTr has allocated P54 billion for the resettlement of the informal settlers.
The proposed PNR South Commuter Line from Manila to Los Banos, Laguna is expected to reduce travel time by less than an hour from the current two hours.
He said the NHA has a total of 50,000 housing units that are available for the relocation.
“We are negotiating to get a substantial number of units for the informal settlers,” Chavez said.
The department is looking at multiple options for the resettlement — through local government units by provinces or cities, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), NHA or civil society organizations that have extensive credentials and track record in resettlement.
The PNR North Railway Project from Manila to Clark is expected to reduce travel time to just 55 minutes from the current two to three hours.
The rail line will have a total of 17 stations running from Tutuban passing through Marilao and Malolos and all the way to the Clark International Airport and the proposed New Clark City in Tarlac which will accommodate 350,000 passengers daily on its first year of operations.
According to the DOTr, the project will start construction in the last quarter of 2017 and will be completed by the last quarter of 2021. The project costs PHP255 billion and will be funded through official development assistance (ODA) from Japan.
Aside from the Manila-Clark railway project, Japan will likewise fund the Manila-Los Baños segment as part of the North-South Commuter Railway Project. China, on the other hand, will finance the PHP151 billion, 581 km. railway (known as the PNR South Long Haul) that will connect Matnog in Sosogon, and Batangas to the National Capital Region.
The DOTr intends to complete nearly 2,000 kilometers of rail City, Cayetano Boulevard