The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is looking into the feasibility of a Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas Railway, a key component of the government plan to establish a logistics corridor in Luzon.
Transportation undersecretary Timothy John Batan said the feasibility study proceeded from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s trilateral summit with United States President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in April.
“We are preparing the feasibility study” for the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas Rail, Batan said.
According to him, the project is a joint initiative of the US, Sweden, and Asian Development Bank.
Batan said the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas Railway will connect Subic Port to Clark International Airport (CRK) and the Ports of Manila and Batangas.
Due to financial acquisition issues, the older Subic-Clark Railway with China did not materialize, resulting in the study of a longer Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas Rail line, Batan said.
“The Subic-Clark Railway project unfortunately didn’t get the financing we expected and that’s why we studied it again and thought of making it the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas” project instead, Batan said.
The logistics corridor the plan requires building will not only connect the port of Subic and the airport at Clark but will reach the Port of Manila and the Port of Batangas as well, he added.
Secretary Frederick Go, the special assistant to the President for investment and economic affairs, said the Clark-Manila-Batangas Railway Project may cost more than $7 billion.
The project will enhance connectivity between Subic Bay, Clark, the ports of Manila and Batangas and accelerate coordinated investments in high-impact infrastructure projects.
The corridor’s strategic location, handling 80 percent of the Philippines’ port traffic, positions it as a critical gateway for regional trade and investment, Go said.
