Global firms in infra program a vote of confidence: Sonny

WASHINGTON DC–The “vibrant participation” of both international and Philippine companies in President Duterte’s signature “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program is solid proof of the trust that the government has earned from the global community as a result of its transparent and corruptionfree governance, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has said here.

Dominguez cited as an example the auction for the contracts covering the fourth and fifth packages of the segment of the

North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) running from Malolos in Bulacan to Clark in Pampanga, which has attracted five foreign firms and one Philippine company.

The bids for the contract packages were submitted by the interested parties last Oct. 14.

These firms are EEI Corp., one of the Philippinesʼ leading construction firms; the Spanish conglomerate group Acciona S.A.; South Koreaʼs leading infrastructure companies GS Engineering and Construction and Posco Engineering and Construction; PT Waskita Karya (Persero) Tbk of Indonesia; and PT Wijaya Karya Tbk, the largest construction company in Indonesia.

“The vibrant participation from international and local companies in our ‘Build, Build, Buildʼ program is proof that they trust the Duterte administration and in the transparent, fair and corruption-free bidding process implemented by the government,” said Dominguez during last week’s roundtable lunch meeting here with representatives from the United States (US) government, various industries and sectors, economic think-tanks, and the private sector.

This lunch meeting, which was held at the official residence of Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, served as a Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) to share with American government executives and business leaders the countryʼs growth narrative and exchange views on how to further strengthen economic ties between the Philippines and US.

The 53-kilometer (km) Malolos-Clark railway, also known as the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Phase 2, forms part of the 148-km NSCR project. The other segments are the 56-km Calamba-Tutuban railway and the 38-km TutubanMalolos

line.

According to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the P32.7-billion project for Package 4 of the Malolos-Clark railway spans 8 km and includes the Clark International Airport Station, while the P18.1-billion project for Package 5 consists of the NSCR’s Clark Depot.

The Malolos-Clark rail line, which the DOTr expects to be partly operational in 2022, will reduce travel time between Clark airport and the Makati Central Business District (BD) to just 55 minutes from the current three hours.

The DOTr aims to award the contract for Packages 4 and 5 within the first quarter of 2020.

In the first three packages of the Malolos-Clark railway segment, nine international firms and two Philippine companies vied for the contracts. The DOTr is targeting to award the contracts for Packages 1 to 3 in December this year.

With improved public revenues as a result of tax reform and strong support from the Philippinesʼ development partners such as Japan, China and South Korea, Dominguez expressed confidence that the Duterte administrationʼs ambitious infrastructure modernization program will help the economy weather the headwinds induced by the global economic slowdown.

Dominguez said “Build, Build, Build” has “become a showcase for coordinated international cooperation,” with both China and Japan having committed USD 9 billion each in official development assistance (ODA) and Korea pledging an additional USD 1 billion to help implement the programʼs big-ticket infrastructure projects.

While several international companies want to take part in the “Build, Build, Build” program, Dominguez observed that no serious offer has been received by the Philippines from US companies.