THE Philippine government will spend at least $89.45-million per kilometer to construct the Malolos-Clark Railway, a rail system that will connect Clark economic zone and Clark International Airport to Metro Manila.
The 53.1-kilometer (km) passenger railway will be financed by loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica). The project will be completed in five years but will be partially operational by 2022.
On Thursday, the ADB Board approved a $2.75-billion loan for the project, which will be used for the civil works that will cover six contracts. Jica will also extend a loan of $2 billion for the project.
“It will be ADB’s single largest infrastructure project financing ever, and from a development perspective, we are pleased this investment is taking place in ADB’s host country. The project, combined with other investments in light rail transit, metro rail transit, and subway systems, will bring back the culture of rail transport in Metro Manila,” ADB President Takehiko Nakao said.
ADB Principal Transport Specialist for Southeast Asia Markus Roesner said the national government will be spending for the relocation of families affected by the project and tasks such as shifting of utilities in the affected areas.
The Malolos-Clark railway will displace around 2,000 families, Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Libiran said in a briefing on Thursday.
Libiran said 80 percent of the Right of Way Acquisition (Rowa) has already been completed and the acquisition of the land where 2,000 families currently reside are all that remains to be purchased by the government.
“As regards the affected families, we have on record about 2,000 affected families. But let me also note that the Rowa is already 80-percent clear because we’re using the PNR [Philippine National Railways] right of way,” Libiran said.
The rail system will have seven stations—Calumpit, Apalit, San Fernando, Angeles, Clark, Clark Airport and Blumentritt in Manila. The elevated railway will offer passengers three kinds of trains: a local train which will pass by all stations; an express train which will pass by select stations; and an airport express which is a point-to- point service.
While the system does not promise that passengers will no longer be asked to walk long distances when transferring from one railway to another, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) Vivencio B. Dizon said the rail system is designed to provide not only speedy transport but comfortable transfers.
ADB said the Malolos–Clark Railway Project aims to provide safe, reliable and affordable public transport for a total of about 342,000 passengers expected to travel daily along the Manila–Clark corridor and up to 696,000 passengers per day to Calamba by 2025.
It is estimated to cut travel time from Metro Manila to Clark International Airport to less than one hour by rail, compared with two to three hours by car or bus today.
“When you go to Hong Kong, you get off at Central or Kowloon, you gotta walk, right? But it’s been designed so well that it’s not a very inconvenient walk, it’s quite a comfortable walk. So here, what the planners are doing is, we’re modeling after those examples, but you still gotta walk,” Dizon said.
“Walking is good for us. We’re designing it in a way that’s convenient. Meaning, No. 1, you won’t get wet and I think that is what the DOTr is guaranteeing. It’s going to be a convenient transfer,” he added.
The rail stations will include multimodal facilities, allowing commuters to easily transfer from public buses and jeepneys to the trains. The underground station at the Clark International Airport will provide a short connection to upcoming and future airport terminals.
The project will be built on an elevated alignment, helping reduce the impact on communities, avoid disruption of activities, and mitigate flood risks along the route.
It will use innovative construction methods such as prefabricated viaduct segments, which limits the need for land acquisition and accelerates construction. High-quality construction methods will be used to achieve the maximum rail speed of up to 160 km per hour.