Subic-Clark Railway project up for Duterte’s go-signal

Economic managers have approved the P50-billion Subic-Clark Railway project that would not only connect the two industrial hubs in Central Luzon but also eventually be part of the larger network of rails connecting major seaports in Luzon island.

The project was approved during last Friday’s National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee meeting, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III told reporters late Friday.

As such, it would be next for approval by the Neda board, chaired by the President.

Railway network

Dominguez noted that once completed, the project would be part of the railway network connecting Subic, Manila and Batangas, which host busy ports.

Besides the Subic-Clark Railway, also to be rolled out are rail systems connecting Clark to Malolos City, Bulacan to Manila, and to the Bicol Region through Laguna and Batangas provinces.

Neda Undersecretary Rolando Tungpalan told the Inquirer on Saturday that the Subic-Clark Railway would be financed by the Chinese government.

The Department of Finance earlier said China might provide a $947.64-million loan to roll out the railway system.

Memo of understanding

Last November, Dominguez and the Chinese commerce vice minister and international trade representative, Fu Ziying, signed a memorandum of understanding “to jointly identify and study an indicative list consisting of the second basket of key infrastructure cooperation projects for possible Chinese financing,” which besides the Subic-Clark Railway also included the Davao City Expressway, as well as the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Inter-Island Bridge.

The first basket of infrastructure projects to be funded by China included the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam.

Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/964312/subic-clark-railway-project-up-for-dutertes-go-signal#ixzz55YW8NjCy
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DOTr: Better MRT 3 service coming in February

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) assured long-suffering Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT 3) passengers of an improvement in service starting next month as brand-new spare parts for the aging train system begin arriving.

“Many of the spare parts intended to increase MRT 3’s reliability have been ordered as of Dec. 29. With delivery lead times of 30 days to 6 months, delivery of critical components will begin in February, and restoration of service reliability is expected to begin toward the latter part of February and gradually thereafter,” the DOTr said in a statement on Saturday.

It apologized to those affected by the electrical fire that broke out in one train on Friday, leading to the unloading of around 600 passengers and the disruption of services for nearly an hour.

Soonest time possible

“Fault analysis is ongoing, and in the interest of accuracy and transparency, DOTr has directed MRT 3 management to release to the public their technical findings at the soonest possible time,” it said.

According to DOTr, it fully supports the MRT 3 management’s efforts to ensure the train system operates safely.

“The DOTr appeals to the riding public’s understanding while it pushes ahead, in the most expeditious manner, strategies and actions to effectively and sustainably restore and rehabilitate the current MRT 3 system — a system that has deteriorated due to cumulative errors in policy and operational decisions made across several administrations,” it added.

The DOTr said the purchase of spare parts was just the next step after government took over maintenance of the MRT 3 from a private contractor.

The MRT 3 Maintenance Transition Team (MTT) is supposed to oversee the train’s maintenance for three to six months until a replacement maintenance service provider can be found.

DOTr-Japan agreement

The DOTr also referred to an agreement with Japan in which the latter expressed its commitment to help rehabilitate and properly maintain the MRT 3 starting in May.

Japan was also asked to ensure that the maintenance provider it would nominate was “highly qualified and with a proven track record.”

The DOTr earlier said it would be pursuing an unsolicited proposal for the 30-year operation and maintenance of MRT 3 from Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. The proposal would soon be endorsed to the National Economic and Development Agency.

The entire MRT 3 system is undergoing an independent audit and assessment by TUV Rheinland to give DOTr more inputs and guidance on the interventions needed to rehabilitate and restore its reliability.

Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/964292/dotr-better-mrt-3-service-coming-in-february#ixzz55ZLsmEI6
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MPTC to raise P35 billion for 2 projects

METRO PACIFIC Tollways Corp. (MPTC) plans to raise P35 billion during the first quarter to fund its Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) and the C-5 South Link project.

“For C-5 South Link and CALAX, we expect to have financial close in the first quarter,” MPTC chief financial officer Christopher Daniel C. Lizo told reporters in a recent interview.

Mr. Lizo said the tollways arm of the Metro Pacific group allotted P11 billion for South Link and around P25 billion for CALAX .

MPTC earlier said it is planning to spend P10 billion this year for its projects located in the south of Metro Manila, including CALAX and South Link.

In June 2017, the Metro Pacific group broke ground on the P35.43-billion CALAX project, which involves the construction of a 44.6-kilometer four-lane toll road between the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) in Kawit, Cavite and the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) — Mamplasan Interchange.

MPCALA Holdings, Inc., a unit of Metro Pacific, received the notice of award for the 35-year contract to build, operate, and maintain the planned expressway on June 8, 2015, but right-of-way issues for the project site delayed the start of construction.

MPCALA tapped DM Consunji, Inc. for the construction of the Laguna segment, and Leighton, a unit of Australia’s CIMIC Group Ltd., formerly Leighton Holdings, for the Cavite segment.

CALAX is scheduled to open in 2020 or early 2021, but Metro Pacific may open some portions ahead.

The C-5 South Link Expressway is a 7.7-kilometer, six-lane project which will connect C-5 road to Cavitex. The first phase of the project, worth P2.5 billion and covering 2.2 kilometers including a flyover above the SLEx and Skyway from C-5 Road in Taguig to Merville in Sucat, Parañaque, is now under construction.

The whole alignment of the C-5 South Link will be operational in 2020, but will be opened in phases starting next year.

DOTr to pursue unsolicited proposal for MRT-3 maintenance, operation

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is pursuing an unsolicited proposal for the 30-year operation and maintenance of the Metro Rail Transit-3 to end the blame game associated with the repeated breakdowns of the MRT-3’s rolling stocks.

“Many of MRT-3’s problems in recent years resulted from successive short-term and fragmented maintenance contracts, and from finger-pointing due to having different entities maintaining and operating MRT-3,” the DOTr said in a statement over the weekend.

“DOTr is addressing this by pursuing an unsolicited proposal for the 30-year operation and maintenance of MRT-3. Original proponent status has been given to the proponent, Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., and the proposal will be soon endorsed to NEDA,” it added.

The DOTr also said it has formalized an arrangement with Japan for assistance in rehabilitating and maintaining the MRT-3, with the government of Japan nominating a service provider that “must be highly qualified and with a proven track record.”

The agency also apologized for the a smoke emitted from one of the seats of an MRT-3 train on Friday afternoon, causing the unloading of 600 passengers who had to walk along the sides of the railway to the nearest stations. The incident happened between the Cubao and Kamuning stations.

“The DOTr expresses sincere apologies to those who were affected and inconvenienced by the recent smoke incident,” the DOTr said.

“Fault analysis is ongoing and in the interest of accuracy and transparency, DOTr has directed MRT-3 management to release to the public their technical findings at the soonest possible time,” it added.

The former maintenance provider for the MRT-3, Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI), said DOTr must stop blaming other parties and take full responsibility over the recent problems experienced by the MRT-3.

“DOTr fails to recall the fact that when they hurriedly took over the maintenance of the MRT3, it was an operational and safe MRT3. They failed to organize a transition team, composed of experienced rail engineers, to ensure the continuing safety and efficient maintenance of the MRT3,” BURI said.

“Is it not obvious that under BURI’s watch, such incidents like the uncoupling of trains on the mainline never happened?” the company added.