Connecting Tutuban and Malolos, Japan lends $2 B for railway project

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines and Japan signed on Thursday night  a  $2-billion loan  for the construction of the 36.7-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway project that will connect Tutuban and Malolos,Bulacan.

  “This will certainly help us improve the land transportation capacity of the greater Metro Manila area and provide a more environmentally sustainable mode of transport,” President Aquino said during the joint press briefing.

The railway project, which   will be funded through Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA),  represents the largest ever for a single project in the country, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

President Aquino said Japan remains the Philippines’ largest bilateral trading partner and among the largest sources of investments.

“We hope to further boost the synergies of our economic cooperation for the benefit and progress of the peoples of both our countries and the greater region,” he said.

The agreement was signed after the bilateral meeting between   President Aquino  and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Pasay City.

President Aquino described the meeting, which was the seventh between the two leaders, as “extremely productive”.

“During our meeting, the Prime Minister and I reaffirmed the deepening of the strategic partnership,” Aquino said. 

“We have taken a significant step forward in enhancing our defense and security relations by agreeing in principle on the transfer of defense equipment and Technology, and we are hopeful that we can conclude and sign this agreement sooner rather than later,” he said.

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of the Philippines-Japan Social Security Agreement which will maintain the benefit rights of workers who have live and work in the Philippines and Japan.

Under the bilateral agreement, those covered by social security systems will continue to receive benefits, whether they are residing in the Philippines, Japan or even in other countries.

 It was signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa.

 The agreement “aims to solve the problem of double payments and further facilitate people-to-people exchanges and economic cooperation between the two countries.”

 Aquino and Abe also pledged to further boost economic cooperation for the benefit and progress of the people of the two countries and the Asian region.??

 Aquino thanked Abe for Japan’s assistance to the government’s efforts to attain enduring peace and long-term progress in Mindanao through the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD II) program that seeks to promote capacity building for economic autonomy.