Filtered by: Money
Money

Manila retains Chinese contractor for Northrail project


MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government will reportedly retain the services of a Chinese contractor which has yet to deliver on a local railway project four years after its inception. Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila confirmed over the weekend that Manila has agreed to keep the $400-million Northrail project under the state-owned China and National Machinery Equipment Group (CNMEG). He declined to elaborate. Favila’s confirmation indicated that Malacañang has given CNMEG 45 days to begin the project anew. Similarly, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) was also instructed to speed up the clearing operations in areas covered by the project. In 2004, China agreed to provide some $400 million worth of funds to begin construction for a project initially connecting Caloocan City to Malolos in Bulacan. Considered as the largest Chinese project in Southeast Asia, the Northrail project will later be extended to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Angeles City, Pampanga. Its second phase will expand to cover the Subic Freeport Zone in Zambales while its third phase will cover Caloocan City to the Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. The fourth phase will pass through Pampanga, Tarlac, and Pangasinan until San Fernando, La Union. According to its original proposal, the company will install a double-track system using narrow gauge tracks compatible with the existing lines of the Philippine National Railways. Once completed, the 32-kilometer railway is expected to carry 350,000 commuters daily, including those coming from the Light Rail Transit and the Metro Rail Transit, which will later be connected to Northrail. Earlier, the Chinese embassy in Manila has reiterated Beijing’s commitment to complete the railway project. - GMANews.TV
LOADING CONTENT