MinBC to DOTr: Hasten Mindanao railway project

THE Mindanao Business Council (MinBC) calls on the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to start the Mindanao Railway Project immediately as it remains to be one of the concerns of the business sector in Mindanao.

In an interview with MinBC chair Vicente Lao, he said the economy of Mindanao had been robust made by the number of infrastructure projects being implemented in Mindanao.

This, together with the investments that have started to come in Mindanao, is how he thinks the island-region has contributed to the national GDP which had recently been reported to reach 6.8 percent as of the first quarter of 2018.

On top of all this, Lao said they believe that the Mindanao Railway Transit will help improve the economy of Mindanao and in the long run of the country as well.

Lao added this will make Mindanao products more competitive globally.

“This remains to be the concern of the business sector in Mindanao especially that this had been the commitment of President Rodrigo Duterte way back during his campaign period two years ago,” Lao said.

To put the project as a priority, Lao suggested that the responsibility be transferred from the DOTr to a Mindanaobased organization like the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) just so it would be given more focus, he said adding that DOTr may currently be addressing other transportation-concerns in Metro Manila as well.

It can be recalled that the first phase of the project had previously been targeted to start by the 2nd quarter of 2018 during an interview with Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade July of last year. However, this target date was moved to the 3rd quarter of 2018 as per statement of Minda executive director assistant secretary Romeo Montenegro during a press conference December of last year.

The first phase of the Mindanao Railway Project will cover 100 kilometers and will traverse through Tagum-DavaoDigos. It will have eight stations in Tagum City, Carmen, Panabo City, Mudiang, Davao terminal, Toril, Sta. Cruz, and Digos. This phase had an approved budget of P31.5 billion. The entire project will be 830-kilometer long.