Tugade: Admin's goal is to make Filipino life comfortable

 TRANSPORTATION Secretary Arthur Tugade has underscored the Duterte administration's goal to make the lives of every Filipino comfortable and convenient.

The Department of Transportation chief stressed this during the recent signing of three construction packages for the PNR Clark Phase 2 railway project from Malolos to Clark Freeport.

"Be assured that we are focused on our goal to make the Filipino life comfortable, the Filipino life convenient. This administration shall remain firm and steadfast in turning this railway project into a living reality," Tugade said.

The PNR Clark Phase 2 is a 54-kilometer north segment of the North South Commuter Railway that will feature the country's first Airport Express Service.

Tugade cited the partnership of the private sector and the government to build big ticket infrastructure projects.

He thanked the entities that supported the projects implemented under the Build Build Build program of the National Government.

"Today, more than signing the agreements for the NSCR project, this event is a celebration of trust. It is a celebration of trust and confidence that you have given and is giving to the Duterte Administration," Tugade said.

"Without the trust in this administration, I am sure that partnering and investing with us in building transport infrastructure for the comfort and convenience of the Filipino people will be utterly difficult," he added.

He mentioned in particular the Asian Development Bank ADB and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) for supporting the project.

"I would like to thank the Jica and the ADB for partnering with us in this momentous project. This project, by par, is the ADB's largest ever financing package for a single project and indeed this project is the single largest BBB project to date in the history of the Duterte Administration," Tugade said.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1872901/Pampanga/Local-News/Tugade-Admins-goal-is-to-make-Filipino-life-comfortable

Malolos Clark Railway to reduce travel time

 THE three-hour passenger travel time by bus from Metro Manila to the regional growth centers in Central Luzon including Clark Freeport will be reduced to one hour by railway once the Malolos-Clark Railway is completed.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has stated this on its official Facebook page on Friday, October 9, 2020.

"Manila to Clark in one hour. The Malolos Clark Railway will cut travel time from Metro Manila to regional growth centers in Central Luzon from 2 to 3 hours to one hour," the agency said.

Once operational, the railway system is expected to accommodate 350,000 passengers daily and employ 1,400 people.

The railway project is the largest financing package implemented by the Asian Development Bank. It is co-financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, according to the BCDA.

Department of Transportation DoTr Secretary Arthur P. Tugade earlier announced the signing of three construction packages for the PNR Clark Phase 2 railway project from Malolos to this freeport.

"Be assured that we are focused on our goal to make the Filipino life comfortable, the Filipino life convenient. This administration shall remain firm and steadfast in turning this railway project into a living reality," Tugade said.

The PNR Clark Phase 2 or the Malolos Clark Railway is a 54-kilometer north segment of the North South Commuter Railway that will feature the country's first Airport Express Service.

Tugade cited the partnership of the private sector and the government to build big-ticket infrastructure projects.

He thanked the entities that supported the projects implemented under the Build Build Build (BBB) program of the national government.

"Today, more than signing the agreements for the NSCR project, this event is a celebration of trust. It is a celebration of trust and confidence that you have given and is giving to the Duterte Administration," Tugade said.

"Without the trust in this administration, I am sure that partnering and investing with us in building transport infrastructure for the comfort and convenience of the Filipino people will be utterly difficult," he added.

He mentioned in particular the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) for supporting the project.

"I would like to thank the Jica and the ADB for partnering with us in this momentous project. This project, by par, is the ADB's largest ever financing package for a single project and indeed this project is the single largest BBB project to date in the history of the Duterte Administration," Tugade said.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1873012/Pampanga/Local-News/Malolos-Clark-Railway-to-reduce-travel-time

It’s all systems go for Malolos-Clark railway plan

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday signed P85 billion in construction contracts for a key phase of the 148-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System in Luzon, a major infrastructure project that is moving forward under the Duterte administration.

The department led the virtual signing ceremonies with Filipino and international contractors for the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 2—also known as the Malolos-Clark Railway Project, which formed part of the NSCR.

This phase stretches 54 km and will feature a so-called airport express service since it will create a railway link between Metro Manila and Clark International Airport in Pampanga by 2025.

In his remarks on Thursday, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade called the NSCR the singe largest project under the government’s Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.

“This administration shall remain firm and steadfast in turning this railway project into a living reality,” Tugade said.

Three contract packages were signed during the event.

The first is with the venture between Megawide Construction Corp., Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd. and Dong-Ah Geological Engineering Co. Ltd.

Worth P28.4 billion, this package covers 17 km in the towns of Malolos and Calumpit in Bulacan and in the towns of Apalit and Minalin in Pampanga.

“We have strong and extremely competent partners in Hyundai and Dong-ah, from whom we will be able to learn and leverage our learnings on as we pursue more projects in this space,” Edgar Saavedra, Megawide chair and CEO, said in a statement.

Package No. 2 was signed with the venture between Acciona Construction Philippines and Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd.

Worth P33.7 billion, this will cover 16 km in the towns of Minalin, Sto. Tomas and San Fernando in Pampanga.

The final package was signed with Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd. It is worth P22.78 billion and covers 12 km in the towns of San Fernando, Angeles and Mabalacat in Pampanga.

Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said construction for these segments were set to begin before the end of 2020 and the department was targeting partial operations by 2023 before its full completion in five years.

The NSCR is being financed with loans provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

ADB director general for Southeast Asia Ramesh Subramaniam said during the signing ceremonies that the three packages alone would create over 25,000 jobs in the next three years.

He said the project was also timely in creating employment in the midst of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These civil works contracts will help accelerate the Philippines’ economic revival over the next 12-24 months,” Subramaniam said.

The NSCR will eventually encompass 37 stations, 464 train cars across 26 cities and municipalities across in Luzon. It can serve about 830,000 passengers daily once operational and has provisions for future expansion.

It includes the PNR Clark Phase 1, a 38-km line from Tutuban in Manila to Malolos Bulacan. The segment, which now stands at 40.48 percent completion rate, is targeted to be partially operable by December 2021.

The final segment is the 72-km PNR Calamba from Solis, Manila to Los Banos, Laguna. The segment now stands at 20.42-percent progress rate.

https://business.inquirer.net/309115/its-all-systems-go-for-malolos-clark-railway-plan

Malolos-Clark railway project gets underway

 Construction of the PNR Clark phase 2 project, or the Malolos-Clark portion of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) system is set to begin before the year ends after the Department of Transportation (DOTr) completed the award of civil works contracts worth $2.5 billion.

The project’s three remaining civil works packages worth more than $1.7 billion were signed yesterday, completing the five civil works packages needed to start the project’s construction.

“We are starting construction by November or December of this year with the mobilization of our three contractors, with partial operability scheduled in 2023, and our full completion schedule in 2025,” Transportation Undersecretary for railways Timothy John Batan said.

The PNR Clark phase 2 project is the  53-kilometer northern segment of the mega railway network known as the NSCR system which will have a 148-kilometer route length, 37 stations and 464 train cars.

“The signing of these contracts means the Malolos–Clark Railway project construction will now go on full speed, helping the country’s economic revival over the next 12 to 24 months,” Asian Development Bank (ADB) director-general for Southeast Asia Ramesh Subramaniam said.

“When completed by 2025 based on current plans, we expect the project to benefit nearly 350,000 commuters daily. We are proud to work with the Philippine government, development partners, and the private sector to deliver this important flagship infrastructure project using modern technology for the country,” he said.

The project is co-financed by the ADB and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

JICA will provide up to $2 billion in additional funding for the rolling stock and railway systems.

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The NSCR encompasses three railway projects, including the PNR Clark phase 1, or the Tutuban-Malolos portion, which is a 38-km rail line that will connect Tutuban, Manila to Malolos, Bulacan.

The segment, which will reduce travel time from approximately one hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes, is now 41 percent complete and is targeted to be partially operable by December 2021.

The PNR Clark Phase 2, or the Malolos-Clark segment, will cut travel time from Malolos, Bulacan to Clark International Airport to just 30 minutes from the original one hour and 30 minutes.

The first contract package of the Malolos–Clark railway line was awarded to the joint venture of Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., Dong-ah Geological Engineering Co. Ltd., and Megawide Construction Corp.

Spain’s Acciona Construction Philippines Inc. and Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd. won the second contract package, while the third contract package was awarded to Italian–Thai Development Public Co. Ltd.

Contract package four was awarded in August to a joint venture of Acciona Construction Philippines Inc. and EEI Corp., while contract package five was given to Korea’s POSCO Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd.

The last NSCR segment is the PNR Calamba, which is a 56-km line that will run from Solis, Manila to Calamba, cutting travel time to one hour from three hours.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/09/2048147/malolos-clark-railway-project-gets-underway

DoTr: PNR Clark Phase 2 construction to start before yearend

Construction works for the $2.5-billion Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 2 project will begin before 2020 ends, according to the Department of Transportation (DoTr).

In a briefing on Thursday, Timothy John Batan, Transportation secretary for railways, said “we are starting construction by November [or] December this year with the mobilization of our three contractors, with partial operability scheduled in 2023 and out full completion scheduled [in] 2025.”

The project “will go full speed to aid [the country’s] economic recovery,” he added.

Batan’s remarks come after his department signed three civil works contracts for the project worth $1.7 billion.

Megawide Construction Corp. and its South Korean partners Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd. and Dong-ah Geological Engineering Co. Ltd. secured the P28-billion N-01 contract to build a 17-kilometer viaduct that includes elevated station buildings in Calumpit town in Bulacan province and Apalit municipality in Pampanga province.

Acciona Construction Philippines and Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd. bagged the P33.7-billion N-02 contract package for a 16-kilometer viaduct and one station building in the towns of Minalin and Sto. Tomas and San Fernando city in Pampanga.

Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd. won the contract to build a 12-kilometer viaduct and one station building in Pampanga as part of the Malolos-Clark extension of the North-South Commuter Railway System.

The 53-kilometer PNR Clark Phase 2, which would run from Malolos in Bulacan to Clark in Pampanga, is part of the government’s P777.5-billion North-South Commuter Railway Extension Project.

The DoTr has said the project would be operational by 2022, but the Asian Development Bank said in a statement on Thursday the railway might start accommodating passengers beginning in 2025.

It is expected to serve 340,000 passengers daily.

Once finished, travel time from Gil Puyat Ave. in Makati City to Clark International Airport would be cut to 55 minutes versus the current two hours by private vehicle via expressway.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/10/09/business/business-top/dotr-pnr-clark-phase-2-construction-to-start-before-yearend/778240/

DOTr inks last 3 deals for Malolos-Clark Railway

Transportation Undersecretary for Railways TJ Batan says construction is expected to start within 2020

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) signed on Thursday, October 8, the last 3 of 5 contracts for the 54-kilometer Malolos-Clark Railway, the northern segment of the ambitious North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR).

The 3 deals, which amounted to a total of P84.9 billion, would cover Malolos, Bulacan, to Mabalacat, Pampanga. The Malolos-Clark Railway was previously known as the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark 2 project.

Last September 18, the DOTr awarded the contract to the following concessionaires:

• Package N-01 (P28.4 billion): Joint venture of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, Megawide Construction Corporation, Dong-ah Geological Engineering Company Ltd
• Package N-02 (P33.7 billion): Joint venture of Acciona Construction Philippines and Daelim Industrial Company Ltd
• Package N-03 (P22.8 billion): Italian-Thai Development Public Company Ltd

The ceremonial virtual signing was done on Thursday.

The Hyundai-Megawide-Dong-ah partnership will construct 17 kilometers of elevated rail viaduct from Malolos to Calumpit in Bulacan and Apalit and Minalin in Pampanga. There will be two elevated steel stations between tracks and 7 bridges for Package N-01.

The Acciona-Daelim joint venture, meanwhile, will build 16 kilometers of rail tracks spanning Minalin, Sto Tomas, and San Fernando in Pampanga. The joint venture will build one elevated train station.

Lastly, the Italian-Thai Development Public Company will construct a 12-kilometer railway track from San Fernando to Mabalacat in Pampanga. The Italian-Thai firm will also build an elevated station.

The other two contracts were signed in August, for the construction of the main line from Mabalacat to the Clark International Airport as well as the railway depot on the Pampanga end.

Transportation Undersecretary for Railways TJ Batan said the government saved P34 billion, as the 5 contracts only amounted P123 billion from the original cost estimate of P157 billion.

Batan said construction is expected to start before 2020 ends. Partial operation is targeted in 2022, while full completion is eyed for 2025.

The ambitious railways would feature the country's first airport express service, once the Tutuban-Malolos – formerly the PNR Clark 1 project – and Malolos-Clark railways are completed.

The airport express service would cut down travel time from Makati City to Clark International Airport to one hour, from the over two-hour trip by car.

The construction of the Tutuban-Malolos Railway started in February 2019. The DOTr said the segment now stands at a 40.48% completion rate, with partial operations eyed by December 2021.

The two northern segments will be linked to the PNR Calamba service from Solis Station in Tondo, Manila. The south segment of the NSCR is eyed for partial operations by 2024.

The entire NSCR is cofinanced by the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

https://www.rappler.com/business/dotr-signs-last-deals-malolos-clark-railway

P51B PNR Clark Phase 2 (Malolos-Clark) contracts signed

by Emmie V. Abadilla

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) today witnessed the virtual signing of the three contract packages which complete the P51-billion Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 2,  from Malolos to Clark.

PNR Clark Phase 2 forms part of North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System Project,  one of the flagship infrastructure projects of DOTr.

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade virtually signed Contract Package N-01 with the Joint Venture of Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd., Megawide Construction Corporation and Dong-Ah Geological Engineering Co., Ltd.

The DOTr also virtually signed Contract Package N-02 with the Joint Venture of Acciona Construction Philippines and Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd.

Finally, the agency signed Contract Package N-03 with Italian-Thai Development Public Company Ltd.

DOTr issued the Notice of Awards for the three  civil works contract packages to the winning bidders last month.

Contract Package N-01 covers 17 kilometers of elevated rail viaduct, seven  balanced cantilever bridges, and two  station buildings in the towns of Malolos and Calumpit in Bulacan and in the towns of Apalit and Minalin in Pampanga.

Contract Package N-02, on the other hand, covers 16 kilometers of elevated viaduct and one station building in the towns of Minalin, Sto. Tomas, and San Fernando in Pampanga.

Contract Package N-03 encompasses the 12 kilometers of elevated viaduct and two station buildings in the towns of San Fernando, Angeles, and Mabalacat in Pampanga.

This 54-km northern segment of the NSCR System will stretch from Malolos,  Bulacan to Clark, Pampanga.

The project will feature the country’s first Airport Express Service, which will reduce travel time between Clark International Airport (CRK) in Pampanga and Makati City from more than two hours by car, to just one  hour via the Airport Express.

https://mb.com.ph/2020/10/08/p51b-pnr-clark-phase-2-malolos-clark-contracts-signed/

São Paulo Metro Line 6 concession reallocated

  BRAZIL: The state of São Paulo has signed a formal agreement transferring the concession to build, operate and maintain São Paulo metro Line 6 from the Move São Paulo consortium to the Acciona-led Concessionária Linha Universidade, with the aim of restarting the project which has been at a standstill since 2016.

The PPP contract for construction of the 15·3 km north-south Line 6, also known as the Orange Line, was awarded to the Move São Paulo consortium in mid-2013.

Construction began in January 2015, but was suspended in September 2016 when the concessionaire ran into financial difficulties.

In December 2018 the state government decided to formally end the contract, but the parties agreed that the consortium would continue to work on site, initially until August 2019 and then until May 2020.

This provided time for the state to begin negotiations in November for Acciona to acquire a majority stake in Move São Paulo.

Line 6 will run from São Joaquim station on metro Line 1 in the city centre to Brasilândia in the northwest, with 15 stations serving destinations including several universities.

Around 15% of the construction has so far been completed, and work is expected to take a further five years. This will be followed by 19 years of operation and maintenance of the infrastructure.

Announcing the transfer of the concession on October 5, Acciona said the R$15bn Orange Line was the largest public-private infrastructure project under development in Latin America, and the largest infrastructure project the company has taken on in its history.

It said it had the technical expertise and experience of urban transport projects needed for Line 6, having undertaken 44 projects in seven countries, built more than 3 000 km of railway and metro track and completed 600 km of tunnels.

https://www.railwaygazette.com/projects-and-planning/sao-paulo-metro-line-6-concession-reallocated/57515.article

The World Tonight | ANC (2 October 2020)

Lapid pushes to restore Diosdado Macapagal International Airport as name of Clark air hub

 Sen. Lito Lapid has filed a bill seeking to revert the name of the Clark International Airport to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, a title stripped from the transportation hub in 2012.

Under Lapid's Senate Bill No. 1861, the airport in Angeles City in Pampanga should be named after former President Diosdado Macapagal "to honor the achievements and legacy" of the first Kapampangan president.

"Among the highlights of his presidency are the suppression of graft and corruption, land-reform legislation, abolition of land tenancy, labor law reforms such as the minimum wage law, campaign against Income tax evasion, and the strengthening of free enterprise," Lapid, who also hails from Pampanga, said in the explanatory note of his 1-page bill.

The Clark Airport was first named after Macapagal in 2003 during the presidency of his daughter, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

But Macapagal's name was stripped from the airport during the administration of his daughter's successor - President Benigno Aquino III - whose father's name is used to mark the country's primary gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Talk of restoring Diosdado Macapagal's name in the Clark Airport surfaced again in 2018, after Macapagal-Arroyo was named as House Speaker.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said renaming the Clark International Airport is not a priority.

"Sa akin ho wala pa naman sa agenda ko 'yan. Mas marami pong dapat asikasuhin kaysa sa pangalan," Tugade told Lapid during the Department of Transportation's (DOTr) budget hearing in the Senate.

(To me, that is not yet on the agenda. There are a lot of other things that have to be prioritized over a name.)

"Kung pipilitin niyo po ako ngayon, baka ilagay ko pa pangalan ko diyan. Biro lang po," he said in jest.

(If you will force me to change it now, I might just put my name on it. Just kidding.)

The Clark International Airport - which was temporarily shut last year after sustaining damage from an earthquake - is nearly "96 percent" complete, Tugade said.

The airport's operator may begin operations either later this year or in the first quarter of 2021, he said.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/02/20/lapid-pushes-to-restore-diosdado-macapagal-international-airport-as-name-of-clark-air-hub