The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Tuesday bared discussions with the government of Japan for new railway infrastructure projects.
At the 14th High-Level Joint Committee Meeting on Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation held in Tokyo, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista expressed his gratitude to Japan for its economic assistance in the construction and modernization of the country’s railway infrastructure.
“The Department of Transportation expresses its sincere gratitude to Japan’s latest economic operations package to the Philippines, consisting of official development assistance of private sector investment of 600 billion Japanese yen in Japanese fiscal years 2022-2023,” Bautista said.
“With the Metro Manila Subway, the North-South Commuter Railway and the MRT-3 Rehabilitation and Maintenance Projects now ongoing construction and implementation, the DOTr is now working on its next batch of railway cooperation projects with JICA,” he said.
Bautista said JICA has funded the ongoing feasibility study of the New Clark City Extension of the North-South Commuter Railway.
He added the DOTr requested feasibility study support of the Metro Manila Subway Project’s second phase in meeting with Japanese officials.
Likewise, Bautista also mentioned the “possible financing for certain components of the LRT-2 mid-life rehabilitation project, which will be explored pursuant to an ongoing LRTA-funded feasibility study.”
With the recent signing with Japanese authorities, Bautista said the Philippines should soon complete a new set of projects under a 30-year railway master plan for the Greater Capital Region.
At the high-level meeting, JICA expressed its continued commitment to supporting the country’s development agenda and raised the likelihood of further collaboration in sectors such as energy, peace in Mindanao, and public-private partnerships.
The Manila delegation in Tokyo included the Secretaries of the Department of Finance, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Transportation, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Energy, and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.
