Twenty-three firms have submitted their bids for the construction of the 40.5-kilometer Philippine National Railways (PNR) Calamba project viaduct structures which include 13 elevated stations and a 22-hectare train depot.
In a statement, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it has received 34 bids from six Philippine companies and 17 foreign firms that intend to participate in the 11 contract packages for the rail project.
The local firms are D.M. Consunji Inc., EEI Corp., First Balfour Inc., Megawide Construction Corp., Prime Metro BMD Corp. and Santa Clara International Corp., while the foreign firms are from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey, Spain, Thailand and Japan.
DOTr, the PNR and the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) held the bid submission and opening for contract packages S-01 and S-02, and contract packages S-04, S-05, S-06 and S-07, respectively, last July 14 and July 15.
Five more contract packages for the PNR Calamba project are set for opening of bids later this year.
The opening of bids for the project’s civil works packages S-03A, S-03B and S-03C — which involve construction of at-grade and viaduct structures with five stations, underground tunnel works and the construction of a station to be integrated with the Metro Manila Subway project — are expected by third quarter of 2021.
Also set for the third quarter are the opening of bids for contract packages involving the project’s electromechanical systems and airport express train cars.
The PNR Calamba project is part of the longer 147-km. North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System which has 35 stations stretching from Calamba, Laguna to Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
The NSCR System will have a fleet of 464 train cars or 58 trains sets, including seven airport express train sets. This will cut travel time from Clark airport to Calamba from more than 4 hours down to just 1.5 hours.
Travelers from Makati will also be able to reach Clark International Airport in less than 1 hour aboard the airport express train service. The NSCR System can initially accommodate up to 1 million daily passengers.
Construction of the NSCR System is supported by official development assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). It is the single largest project being financed by the ADB in its history and the longest commuter railway being financed by JICA.
At present, construction is in full swing for the northern segment of the NSCR System which involves 90 km. of rail line and 16 stations.
