The Public-Private Partnership Center (PPP) Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) committee has extended a P200 million grant to study the feasibility of the Mindanao Railway Project Phase 3 and the San Mateo Railway Project.
Transportation Assistant Secretary for Planning and Project Development, Leonel De Velez, said the PDMF committee approved a study grant of P100-million each for both projects under the care of the Department of Transportation.
The PDMF is a revolving fund managed by the PPP Center meant to enhance the investment environment for PPPs and develop a robust pipeline of viable and well-prepared infrastructure projects.
The projects, De Velez said, is consistent with the recently approved Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 that prioritized the mass transit systems throughout the country.
Once the studies are completed, the projects will be submitted for the approval of the Investment Coordination Committee to confirm their viability for PPP implementation.
The Mindanao Railway Project, Phase 3 and the San Mateo Railway Project are to be undertaken using the PPP scheme via the solicited mode.
The San Mateo Railway Project involves the financing, design, construction, and operations and maintenance (O&M) of some 17-km feeder railway line connecting LRT 2 to the municipalities of San Mateo and Rodriguez, Rizal.
The rail project will run from Marikina City, San Mateo and Rodriquez Rizal, and have six stations traversing mostly parallel to the riverbanks.
The proposed Mindanao Railway Project Phase 3 (Northern Mindanao), on the other hand, is a 54.8-kilometer segment of the Mindanao Railway System spanning across the highly urbanized city of Cagayan de Oro, connecting the Municipalities of Laguindingan and Villanueva, Misamis Oriental.
The entire Mindanao railway is a 1,544-kilometer system spanning across the island to improve efficiency of transport and connectivity of major cities and other gateways such as, Davao, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro (CDO), Iligan, Cotabato, Zamboanga, Butuan, Surigao, and Malaybalay in Bukidnon.
The PDMF Committee is chaired by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) with the Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the PPP Center as members of the Committee.
The PPP Center acts as the PDMF Secretariat.
