Clark City, Pampanga — The Philippine National Railways (PNR) is finally being revived with the impending construction of the Manila – Clark Railway.
The contract for the construction supervision and tender assistance consultant for PNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban-Malolos) has been signed in a ceremony at the DOTr Central Office in Clark, Pampanga.
This paves the way for the start of construction of the 38-km. Tutuban-Malolos segment of the 106-km system that will connect Manila with New Clark City. NSTren Consortium, the project’s construction supervision consultant, will supervise the construction which will start in December-January.
Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade made the announcement to demonstrate that the government is committed to put into reality a project that is already long overdue.
“This shows we are not all about ‘talk.’ We don’t just talk, talk, talk. We don’t just build, build, build. We achieve, achieve, achieve,” said Tugade.
The Tutuban-Malolos segment is targeted to be partially operational by 2020 and fully completed by 2021.
The Malolo-New Clark City segment will be completed in 2022. Also known as the North-South Commuter Railway Project (NSCR), the Tutuban-Malolos segment was approved by the NEDA Board in February 2015, with the Japanese ODA (Official Development Assistance) loan being signed in November 2015.
The NSTren consultancy was originally programmed to be procured over a period of 1.5 years, from October 2015 to March 2017.
With the joint efforts of DOTr, PNR, and Department of Budget and Management – Procurement Service (DBM-PS), a successful and transparent bidding was completed in four months, with a final contract price that is 20% lower as budgeted in the loan agreement.
“The DOTr will continue ensuring successful, competitive, and corruption-free bidding processes, as we deliver on the Duterte Administration’s Build Build Build program,” said Assistant Secretary for Railways TJ Batan. | DOTr-PR
