BICOL Saro party-list Rep. Brian Yamsuan yesterday urged private corporations to help fund the revival of the “Bicol Express” or the proposed Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Long Haul Project following President Marcos Jr.’s call for stronger collaboration between the government and the private sector in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“The Department of Transportation (DOTR) said that it is currently looking for private investors for some of its rail projects, including the South Long Haul Project that will run all the way to Bicol. This project has long been proven viable for private investors considering that some of our corporate giants have long expressed interest in reviving the long-idle Bicol Express,” said Yamsuan, who is one of the vice chairpersons of the House Committee on Bicol Affairs and Economic Development.
Yamsuan recalled that San Miguel Corporation, Ayala Corporation, and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) have all expressed interest in bidding for the Bicol Express project way back in 2015.
However, the plan was stalled because MPIC was concerned with the timing of the bidding for the project, which at that time was less than a year before the late President Benigno Aquino III was to step down from office.
Yamsuan said private investors can team up with the government and put up a consortium to bring the Bicol Express project to fruition, citing the President’s renewed commitment to keep infrastructure spending under his administration at five to six percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to guarantee efficient economic growth.
The President also said in his second SONA that “collaboration is the key,” including between the government and the private sector, to realize his administration’s ambitious plans for infrastructure development and other priority programs.
Yamsuan said that if private investors were able to put up a consortium and present an unsolicited proposal to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the same could be done with the modernization of the Bicol rail system.
Estimated to cost P142 billion, the first package of the Bicol Express under the PNR’s South Long Haul Project will connect Metro Manila to Bicol and is expected to reduce travel time between the two points from the current 14 to 18 hours to just four to six hours.
It is among the big-ticket rail projects included in the list of priority infrastructure projects under House Bill 8078, which provides for a 30-year national infrastructure program for 2023 up to 2052. The bill was approved on third and final reading last May.
President Marcos Jr. has also included the Bicol Express project in the list of 194 infrastructure projects under his administration’s P8.3 trillion “Build Better More” (BBM) program, which he said in his SONA is “currently in progress and being vigorously implemented.”
Also during his SONA, the President said he has instructed the DOTR to renegotiate the loan agreement with China, which has agreed to fund the Bicol Express project.
The first package of the Bicol Express project was previously awarded to the joint venture of China Railway Group Ltd., China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group Co. Ltd., and China Railway Engineering Consulting Group Co. Ltd. by the administration of former President Duterte.
However, in July 2022, the loan agreement for the project was considered “withdrawn” after the Chinese government failed to act on the funding requests by the Duterte administration.
Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, who chairs the House Committee on Appropriations, thanked the President for including the Bicol Region in his administration’s BBM infrastructure program, particularly the 1,200-kilometer Luzon Spine Expressway Network.
The Luzon Spine Expressway Network Program is poised to revolutionize the country’s transportation landscape by connecting the Ilocos Region to the Bicol Region. Through this large-scale infrastructure project, the travel time between these two significant regions will be dramatically reduced from the current 20 hours to just nine hours.
Co said that such a considerable reduction in travel time is bound to bring about unparalleled economic and social benefits not only for Bicolanos but to the entire country as well.
“The expressway will not only shorten travel time but will also unlock vast potentials for trade and tourism. It will create opportunities for local businesses and entrepreneurs, uplifting the livelihoods of our constituents. This is a monumental step towards achieving our region’s full potential,” said the lawmaker.
