DOTR eyes annual gain of ₧170B from rail
THE Department of Transportation (DOTR) expects to generate gains of roughly P170 billion per year after it completes the development of P1.7 trillion worth of railway projects through 2025.
Transportation Undersecretary Timothy Batan said each railway project is expected to generate economic gains of at least 10 percent of the total project cost, helping curb the P1.28-trillion annual direct economic cost of congestion in the greater capital region.
“As I have said, we have economic costs amounting to P1.3 trillion per year due to congestion. If we can lower that, that will be a long-lasting legacy of this administration,” he said. “So if we will estimate that and we will invest P1.7 trillion in financial cost, we’re looking at roughly…10 percent of that as the economic return of that investment.”
The government is implementing several rail projects in various parts of the country to improve connectivity and mobility for the masses. It targets to set up as much as 1,209 kilometers of new rails, boasting 168 stations and 1,381 trains.
This will be a huge improvement from when the current administration took over in 2016, when there are only 77 kilometers of operating rails, 61 stations and 234 trains.
According to Batan, the P1.7trillion program is funded by a mix of official development assistance packages, general appropriations, and public-private partnership deals.
The lion’s share of that pie comes from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is providing the Philippines P796.58
billion; followed by the Asian Development Bank with P444.60 billion, the Chinese government with P307.04 billion, PPP deals with P107.76 billion and national budget of P13.07 billion.
Among the priority projects listed in the trillion-peso program are the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark, PNR Calamba, and PNR Bicol, all of which will help interconnect cities and provinces in Luzon.
Batan also bannered the Mindanao Railways, which will run for 100 kilometers between Tagum and Digos. According to Transportation Assistant Secretary for Project Implementation-mindanao Cluster Eymard Eje, the loan agreement with the Chinese government for this project is expected to be completed within the year.
Other projects include the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Lines 4 and 7, as well as the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 West Extension Project.
The LRT 2 West Extension Project, extending the existing line to the Port Area in Manila, will resume the bidding process this March, according to LRT Administration Spokesperson Hernando Cabrera.
“The contribution of infrastructure projects is huge in our efforts to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic. There are shortterm advantages, as these infrastructure projects generate both direct and indirect jobs per investment,” Batan said.