Gov’t to complete NorthRail project within Duterte’s term

MANILA, Philippines - The government is determined to complete the NorthRail project within the term of President Duterte amid an ongoing arbitration case involving the 85-kilometer railroad that would connect Manila and Clark.

“The plan is to complete within the Duterte administration the railway from Manila to Clark. The most important thing is for the project to be completed and for the project to finally happen. We have already spent billions in this for the right of way,” Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and chief executive officer Vince Dizon said in a press briefing yesterday.

Dizon said the project would be spearheaded by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

“BCDA is just a supporter, but the main component is DOTr. Whatever help we can, we will lend a hand. The project is very important to BCDA, particularly the Malolos to Clark segment,” he said.

The railroad project will be composed of two segments. One will be from Tutuban to Malolos, and the other will run from Malolos to Clark, which is called the Clark Rail Transit System.

BCDA has already finalized an agreement with the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corp. for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN) to develop a detailed master plan to identify the design and viability of constructing the Clark Rail Transit System.

JOIN is a Japanese government corporation that aims to invest and participate in transport or urban development projects, involving Japanese companies, such as bullet trains, airports and green cities.

Dizon said there are currently German and Russian investors interested to implement the project.

The NorthRail project was contracted out by the Arroyo administration in 2003 to the China National Machinery and Equipment Corp. (CNMEC) for an original contract cost of $421 million.

The Aquino administration, however, scrapped the project in 2011 after legal questions and allegations of corruption hounded the project.

The controversial NorthRail project has been submitted to an international arbitration court.

Dizon said arbitration in Hong Kong is ongoing, with the CNMEC still seeking $106 million more in payment from the Philippine government.

Dizon, however, said the ongoing arbitration case would not affect the government’s plan to pursue the project.

“The priority of the new government is the NorthRail project finally happens within the term of the current administration. We have to find closure to this problem we had for years and we inherited.  When the arbitration rules, we just have to follow it,” he said.