The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is seeking the assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) for the feasibility study of the Metro Manila Subway project’s second phase and for the rehabilitation of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line 2.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista thanked JICA for its economic packages and assistance worth 600 billion yen to fund the construction and modernization of the country’s railway infrastructure.
Bautista expressed this at the recent 14th High-Level Joint Committee Meeting on Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation between the two countries held in Tokyo.
The ongoing railway projects supported financially by JICA include the Metro Manila Subway, North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and the Metro Rail Transit-3’s rehabilitation.
In addition, JICA also provided technical cooperation assistance for the ongoing feasibility study of the New Clark City Extension of the NSCR.
Bautista said the DOTr is now working on its next batch of railway cooperation projects with JICA.
The transport chief also bared his agency’s request for assistance for the feasibility study of the Metro Manila Subway project’s second phase in the high-level meeting with Japanese officials.
Likewise, Bautista mentioned the “possible financing for certain components of the LRT-2 Mid-Life Rehabilitation Project, which will be explored pursuant to an ongoing LRTA (Light Rail Transit Authority)-funded Feasibility Study.”
Following the recently signed pact with the Japanese government, Bautista said the Philippine government will soon identify new railway projects for the formulation of a 30-year Railway Master Plan for the country’s Greater Capital Region.
