Clark City, Pampanga — A major milestone for the much needed rehabilitation and maintenance of the MRT-3 has been reached, following the exchange of Note Verbales between the Philippines and Japan.
The arrangement with Japan involves obtaining Official Development Assistance (ODA) financing under Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP). In Japan’s other ODA projects with the Philippines, terms include 0.1% interest per annum, 40 years payment period, and 12 years grace period for the principal.
The next step is for JICA to conduct a Feasibility Study, which will refine the project’s scope of works. This will be done in January to February, after which relevant government approvals will be obtained. Signing of the loan agreement and procurement of the rehabilitation and maintenance provider will then follow in March to April, and mobilization of the Japanese provider is expected within the 2nd quarter.
The procurement of a Japan-nominated rehabilitation and maintenance provider will be done pursuant to JICA’s procurement guidelines. Given the urgent need to restore MRT-3’s reliability and capacity, Japan has given assurances that it will nominate a provider that is highly qualified, and has a robust and reliable track record.
“These developments show that we are wasting no time and effort in rehabilitating and restoring the reliability and capacity of MRT-3. This year, we will make significant improvements to MRT-3, and that is our commitment to the Filipino commuters,” said TJ Batan, DOTr OIC Undersecretary for Railways.
In November, the DOTr terminated its contract with Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI) as the MRT-3’s maintenance provider, citing BURI’s failure to perform its maintenance obligations and procure spare parts. The termination was intended to promote accountability and ensure that taxpayers’ money is not being spent on a non-performing service provider.
The Japan ODA for the MRT-3 Rehabilitation and Maintenance Project is Part 3 of DOTr’s 4-part strategy for fixing MRT-3:
Part 1: Promoting accountability with the termination of BURI.
Part 2: Ensuring continued service delivery by establishing the MTT and purchasing needed spare parts.
Part 3: Contracting a rehabilitation and maintenance service provider together with an ODA partner.
Part 4: Putting in place a long-term, single-point-of-responsibility, operator and maintenance provider for MRT-3. | DOTr-PR
