Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Tutuban-Malolos-Clark railway to cut travel time
TWO segments of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), which is the Philippine National Railway (PNR) Clark Phase 1 and 2, will soon cut the travel time from Manila to Bulacan province.
The Department of Transportation (DoTr) said the railway is 45.82 percent finished. The 38-kilometer rail line can accommodate 300,000 passengers daily and will shorten travel time from Malolos, Bulacan to Tutuban, Manila to 35 minutes from 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, the PNR Clark Phase 2 is also seen to reduce travel time from Clark, Pampanga to Malolos, Bulacan from 1 hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes. DoTr said the 54-kilometer rail line will also feature an Airport Express that will connect arriving travelers from Clark International Airport to Makati City in Metro Manila for only 55 minutes.
The two segments will be integrated with the PNR Calamba Phase 3 segment, a 56-kilometer Tutuban to Calamba line, to form the 148-kilometer mammoth NSCR project, a joint undertaking of the DoTr and PNR. LEA DEVIO
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
PNR's North-South railway to cut travel time by more than 50%--DoTr
THE two segments of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) are expected to cut the travel time of commuters travelling to and from north and south by more than half, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said.
The DoTr reported that the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 1 is 45.82 percent complete as of May 17. Upon completion, the DoTr said the 38-kilometer rail line can accommodate 300,000 passengers daily and will shorten travel time from Malolos, Bulacan to Tutuban, Manila to 35 minutes instead of 1 hour and 30 minutes.
The PNR Clark Phase 2 from Clark, Pampanga to Malolos, Bualcan will reduce travel time from 1 hour and 30 minutes to 35 minutes, the DoTr said.
The 54-kilometer rail line will also feature an Airport Express which will take arriving travelers from Clark International Airport (CRK) in Pampanga to Makati in Metro Manila in 55 minutes.
According to the DoTr, the two segments will be linked with the PNR Calamba Phase 3 segment -- a 56-kilometer Tutuban to Calamba line, to form the 148-kilometer mammoth NCSR project.
NSCR is one of the railway projects of the DoTr which promises comfort and convenience to the riding public.
The NSCR is a joint-project of the DoTr and PNR.
Meanwhile, the DoTr announced that the Light Rail Transit 2 (LRT-2) extension from Marikina to Antipolo will open on June 22. The extension project will also cut travel time from Manila to Antipolo from three hours to 40 minutes and boost ridership by 80,000 daily.
Monday, May 24, 2021
Saturday, May 22, 2021
92 infra projects approved in last 5 years, 43 more in pipeline
In its nearly five years in office, the Duterte administration has green-lit 92 projects worth a total of P3.86 trillion, of which the bulk were big-ticket infrastructure projects financed by official development assistance (ODA) loans and grants, the latest National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) data showed.
These projects were approved by the Neda Board chaired by President Duterte between July 2016 and mid-May this year. The latest addition to the list was the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) P19.18-billion retrofitted second additional financing for the Philippine rural development project, which was aimed at supporting programs and projects that would benefit farmers and fisherfolk who were vulnerable during crises and calamities, and contribute to the overall food resiliency of the country.
The Neda said this DA project, to be co-financed by the World Bank and a European Union grant, “will complement the government’s recovery initiatives under the ALPAS Kontra COVID-19 program, and support the creation of jobs in rural areas under the new normal” through its infrastructure and enterprise development components.
Separate Neda data showed that as of May 15, the Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee also had 17 big-ticket projects to be financed by ODA and by the national budget that were pending approval. These are worth a total of P394.95 billion.
The biggest project of these projects was the P175.69-billion Laguna lakeshore road network project phase one, which will be financed by a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and public-private partnership.
The Neda said this 376-kilometer road project around Laguna de Bay would include an 11.8-km viaduct from Lower Bicutan, Taguig City, to Tunasan, Muntinlupa City, plus a 25.8-km shoreline viaduct and embankment from Tunasan to Calamba City.
Another big-ticket project up for action of the ICC c, which is co-chaired by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, was the P80.65-billion Davao City expressway.
Other projects awaiting the ICC’s green-light are the P2.84-billion expansion of General Santos City’s fish port; P7.57-billion construction of steel flyovers in Regions 4A, 10 and 11; P5.96-billion “iconic” bridges project; P28.98-billion Pasig-Marikina River basin flood management; P12.8-billion Philippine multisectoral nutrition project to be financed by the World Bank; and P25.8-billion acquisition of 40 units (20 imported and 20 locally built) of weapon-ready, fast-patrol craft by the Philippine Coast Guard.
The ICC’s technical board is also reviewing 26 other projects, including the P2.81-billion comprehensive master development plan to transform the Libingan ng mga Bayani into a “world-class memorial facility”; a P938.7-million “super maximum security compound” at the Bureau of Corrections; P7.13-billion Panglao-Tagbilaran City offshore bridge connector; P87.52-billion Quezon-Bicol Expressway; P4.54-billion Metro Cebu Circumferential Road; P4.85-billion urban cable car project in the Santolan-Eastwood-Pasig corridor.
https://business.inquirer.net/323369/92-infra-projects-approved-in-last-5-years-43-more-in-pipeline
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
House panel OKs bill seeking to institutionalize ‘Build,Build, Build’
THE House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Works and Highways approved on Wednesday a measure seeking to adopt a 30-year national infrastructure plan.
House Bill (HB) 8151 that was sponsored by committee chairman Rep. Romeo Momo, Sr. aims to institutionalize the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program from 2023 to 2052.
Momo stressed the need for a long-term perspective as “major infra projects are generally capital-intensive [and] take several years to prepare, design, and implement.”
“This will ensure continuity in the development and implementation of projects in the 30-year program across administrations, regardless of changes in national leadership,” he said, adding that it would serve as a “predictable road map for the construction industry, investors, and related sectors in crafting and carrying out their long-term business plans.”
The CWS party-list lawmaker further said that the need to provide “more lasting and effective engineering measures” were further prompted by the recent calamities, coupled with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
The bill will rationalize the six-year, medium-term and annual infrastructure programs, and will serve as the framework for the locations, magnitudes, inkages, and timing of public and private investments in major infrastructure projects for “maximum socio-economic impact.”
“It lays down policies and strategies to be pursued by the government to select and prioritize the component national infrastructure projects in the program and includes [an] initial list of priority projects, subject to regular updating by the [National Economic and Development Authority], in coordination with oversight and implementing agencies,” said Momo.
Under HB 8151, the proposed budget allocation is at least five percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which should be consistent with the ceilings set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).
PNR Clark Phase 1 almost 50% complete
THE PNR Clark Phase 1 from Tutuban Metro Manila to Malolos, Bulacan is almost 50 percent complete.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said the project is already 45.82 percent complete despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Walang patid sa pag-arangkada ang konstruksyon ng 38-kilometer PNR Clark Phase 1, na bahagi ng massive North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project, sa kabila ng pandemiya," the agency stated.
The DOTr said the PNR project was conceptualized in the 1990s but was never completed because of several issues.
"Alam niyo ba na 1990s pa na-conceptualize ang NSCR project? Ngunit, sa kasawiang palad, hindi ito umusad dahil sa kabi-kabilang disagreements at samu't saring mga isyu," the agency added.
With the commitment of DOTr, under the leadership of Secretary Arthur Tugade, the implementation project was prioritized.
"Ngayon, dahil sa pagpupursige ng Department of Transportation, sa pamumuno ni Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, at ng Philippine National Railways, sa panumuno ni GM Junn Magno, nabigyang prayoridad ang proyekto, at unti-unti na ngang naisasakatuparan," it said.
Once completed, travel time from Malolos in Bulacan to Tutuban in Metro Manila will be reduced from one and a half hours to 35 minutes.
"Oras na maging operational na ang PNR Clark Phase 1, na ko-konekta sa Malolos, Bulacan, at Tutuban, Manila, magiging 35 minuto na lamang ang biyahe ng ating mga kababayan, mula sa kasalukuyang isang (1) oras at 30 minuto," the DOTr stated.
The agency said the railway is expected to accommodate 300,000 passengers. "Inaasahan din na nasa 300,000 pasahero ang mase-serbisyuhan ng PNR Clark Phase 1."
The project will also generate employment, it added.
"Sa katunayan, tinatayang nasa kabuuang bilang na 7,500 katao ang estimate na mabibigyan ng trabaho habang isinasagawa ang konstruksyon ng proyekto. 2,000 trabaho naman pa ang naghihintay oras na matapos at maging operational ang kabuuan nito," the agency said.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1895095/Pampanga/Local-News/PNR-Clark-Phase-1-almost-50-complete