Philippines awards North-South Commuter Railway contracts

PHILIPPINES National Railway (PNR) has awarded the first two engineering and construction contracts for Clark Phase 2 of its North-South Commuter Railway Project (NSCR), following a virtual signing ceremony on August 1.

Contract Package 4 was awarded to a partnership of EEI and Acciona Construction Philippines, and Contract Package 5 was awarded to Posco, Korea. The two contracts cover infrastructure on the final 8km stretch of the 53km Clark Phase 2 section between Mabalacat, Pampanga and an underground station serving Clark International Airport.

Package 4 covers the engineering and construction of approximately 6.3km of main line and 1.6km of depot access line, as well as the construction of the Clark Airport station.

Package 5 covers the engineering and construction of the NSCR Clark Depot in Mabalacat, which will cover approximately 33 hectares, and includes the operations control centre (OCC), stabling points, workshops, training centre and other buildings.

Bidding for the two packages opened on October 14, with offers from five applicants received. The following contracts have not yet been awarded although bids have been submitted by 11 local and international companies:

• package 1 covering work on 17km of railway including Calumpit and Apalit stations
• package 2 covering work on 16km including San Fernando station, and
• package 3 covering 12km including Angeles station.

When completed, Clark Phase 2 will connect Malolos, Bulacan, to Clark International Airport in the city of Mabalacat, Pampanga. The section is part of the 148km NSCR rail project, which is expected to cost around Peso 777.55bn ($US 15.8bn) in total. The project is co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (Jica).

The project comprises three stages:

• Clark Phase 1: a 38km line from Tutuban, Manila, to Malolos, Bulacan (under construction)
• Clark Phase 2: a 53km line from Malolos to Clark, Pampanga, and
• Calamba: a 72km line from Manila to Los Banos, Laguna.

Partial operation on Clark Phase 2 is expected to begin in 2022, and the line is expected to cut travel time between the two cities from 1h 30min to 30-35 minutes. The line is projected to carry up to 340,000 passengers daily in its opening year and will be the country’s first airport express route.

https://www.railjournal.com/regions/asia/philippines-awards-north-south-commuter-railway-contracts/