$1.75 Billion Loan for North-South Railway from ADB Awaiting Approval

A loan amounting to $1.75 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is scheduled to be approved by the fourth quarter of the year for the South Commuter Railway Project aimed at linking Tondo in Manila and Calamba in Laguna.

“The Philippine government held successful biddings for civil works contracts for a combined 40.5 kilometers (km) of viaduct structures for the South Commuter Railway Project, a major flagship project the ADB is preparing for funding support for consideration by its Board of Directors in the fourth quarter of this year,” it explained.

Once approved, it will be the biggest financing package that the ADB will release for the Philippines in 2021. The infrastructure project, priced at ₱344.6 billion, will form part of the North-South Commuter Railway System connecting Pampanga and Laguna.

The major infrastructure project is also being considered to become the first airport express system in the country since it will have a station in Pampanga’s Clark International Airport.

It is expected to have a capacity of up to 1 million passengers daily. Travel time between Pampanga and Laguna is also projected to be cut significantly from 4 hours to just 1.5 hours.

The first phase of the North-South Commuter Railway project was supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which lent ₱80 billion to the government.

Source: BusinessWorld