The Philippines and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reaffirmed their partnership in delivering big-ticket infrastructure projects during a joint inspection of the P873.6-billion Malolos-Clark Railway Project (MCRP) on Monday, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto led the site visit at the MCRP Depot in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga.
The 52.65-kilometer MCRP is part of the 147.26-km North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System, the largest infrastructure project financed by the ADB in Asia to date. The project, co-financed with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), will have 35 stations and two train service types linking Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon.
“Every time we go out and see the projects by ourselves is a renewed affirmation of a vision we all share: a Philippines that connects our people better and creates more opportunities for them. And this is possible because we have partners who believe in our future as much as we do,” Recto said.
The scale of the NSCR “speaks volumes of the trust and confidence the ADB has in our country and in the Filipino people’s future,” he added.
Faster travel, more jobs
The MCRP will connect Malolos in Bulacan and Clark in Pampanga through a commuter line and an airport express railway via Clark International Airport and Clark Green City. It is designed to serve New Clark City’s projected population of 1.2 million.
As of June 2025, the MCRP was 42.4 percent complete. Once operational by 2028, it is expected to cut travel time between Malolos and Clark to just an hour by train from nearly three hours by bus currently.
The project has already created more than 10,000 direct jobs during construction, Recto said.
Another ADB-supported NSCR segment, the 56.86-km South Commuter Railway Project (SCRP), will link Manila and Calamba, reducing bus travel that currently takes up to two hours to just 45 minutes by train when the SCRP becomes operational.
When fully operational, the NSCR system is projected to carry 800,000 passengers daily and generate 350,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs.
Backbone of growth
Recto described the NSCR as “nothing less than a genuine economic transformation” and the backbone of the Luzon Economic Corridor.
“It will accelerate trade and investment, not just in big cities, but across the growth centers in between. This will be one of our main vehicles to lift more Filipinos out of poverty,” he said.
He also cited President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) as a safeguard to ensure projects endure and remain protected. “This is proof of how serious the president is in protecting all our investments,” Recto said.
ODA partner
The ADB is the Philippines’ second-largest source of official development assistance (ODA), accounting for $10.40 billion (₱605.88 billion), or 28.7 percent of total ODA as of March 2025.
At least 25 projects under the government’s “Build, Better, More” program are, or will be, financed by the ADB.
These include the Bataan–Cavite Interlink Bridge, the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project and the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network.
