THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) signed three civil works contracts with two contractor consortium for the construction of the Metro Manila segment of the country’s longest rail system—the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR).
During Thursday’s contract signing ceremony in Malacañang, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said “We continue to show our commitment to realizing the dream of a more efficient and inclusive public transportation system that every Filipino deserve.”
“We want to impress on the contractors the importance of meeting schedules so the whole NSCR project can be completed as promised,” said Transport Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said.
Sec. Bautista added the railway system will transform lives and communities, and bring back the culture of mass rail transport in the country with the world-class railway line equipped with modern facilities.
The transport chief said the two joint venture companies – PT Adhi Karya (Persero) Tbk and PT PP (Persero) Tbk of Indonesia and Leighton Contractors (Asia) Ltd. and First Balfour Inc. of Australia, must be able to construct a combined length of 14.9 kilometers of elevated and ground-level rail tracks, including modern train stations in Blumentritt in Manila, Buendia in Makati, EDSA, Senate in Pasay City, Bicutan in Taguig, and Sucat in Parañaque.
Under the P52 billion-worth civil work contract packages, Blumentritt station will have an elevated pedestrian connection with LRT-1, while the EDSA station will also have an elevated pedestrian connection to MRT-3 Magallanes station.
Meanwhile, the Senate station will be near the Senate subway station, and the Bicutan station will share the same platform with the Bicutan subway station.
With the financial support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the governments of Indonesia and Australia, Bautista expressed confidence as the country “inches closer to completing the flagship rail infrastructure.”
The Metro Manila segment is part of the whole 147-kilometer NSCR System, which aim to reduce travel time between Clark, Pampanga and Calamba, Laguna to just two hours and service over 800,000 passengers daily once operational.
