The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is looking into other alternative funding sources to pursue the construction of three major railway projects, after the government dropped the loan negotiation with China.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said that DOTr will no longer pursue Chinese official development assistance (ODA) for railway projects and will look for other funding sources or replacements.
“The Department of Finance (DOF) already sent a letter to China, informing that we will not pursue the loan anymore,” Bautista said.
These projects are the Bicol-South Long Haul, the first phase of the Mindanao Railway and the Subic-Clark Railway.
“We can still go to other ODAs, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), ADB (Asian Development Bank) and World Bank. There are other governments that are talking to us, about the possibility of them supporting the financing of these projects,” Bautista said.
The government’s decision to look for other funding sources is not related to the rising tension in the South Philippine Sea, he added.
“When the new government took over, the previous administration already told the Chinese government that they would not push the loan anymore,” he said.
“We inherited these projects and since there’s not much movement on the financing, we requested the DOF to help us look for other funding sources,” he added.
Bustista said during his speech at the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry event, of the total 197 infrastructure flagship projects (IFP) approved by the National Economic and Development Authority, 73 projects are being undertaken by DOTr with a total value of P4.8 billion.
“Today, we handle more than 160, inclusive of the 73 IFPs, across the project development lifecycle. There are around 28 projects under the aviation sector, 26 under maritime, 59 under railways and 47 under the road sector,” he said.
For the railway sector, DOTr is accelerating the development, upgrade and construction of rail projects, including Light Rail Transit (LRT) line 1’s Cavite extension and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) line 7 which are expected to be partially operational in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
“Another much-anticipated rail line is MRT-4 which will run from Taytay in eastern Rizal towards EDSA along the constricted stretch of Ortigas Avenue. MRT-4’s consultancy and loan agreements will be signed this year,” Bautista said.
The country’s longest rail line yet, the 147-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway, is undergoing full-scale construction from Clark to Calamba.
Its total project cost stands at a whooping P873 billion, with funding to be sourced from the ADB and JICA.
Another big-ticket rail project is the South Long Haul Railway, which involves reconstructing the rail line to Southern Luzon from Banlic Station in Laguna to Daraga, Albay. The line stretches for 565 km with 35 stations.
The Mindanao Railway is currently in the process of design finalization. “We are working on the right-of-way and eventual acquisition of land,” Bautista said.
This P81.67-billion project will start from Digos to Davao City to Tagum, running for a hundred kilometers. It can accommodate up to 125,00 passengers per day.
The Mindanao Railway is a hybrid passenger and freight line that will be the first railway in Mindanao.