The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it has awarded the P28-billion Malolos-Clark Railway Project (MCRP) Package 1 to Filipino engineering conglomerate Megawide Construction Corp. and its Korean partners.
Megawide said it will undertake the said project along with Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd. and Dong-ah Geological Engineering Company Ltd.
The notification of award was issued on September 18, the company said.
“Megawide, together with our world-renowned consortium partners in the field of engineering, Hyundai E and C and Dong-ah, is committed to deliver the highest standards of construction and engineering excellence for the MCRP. This will be another first-world infrastructure in the making,” Edgar Saavedra, chairman and CEO of Megawide, said in a statement.
The estimated project cost of P28 billion is equivalent to more than half of Megawide’s current order book of P48 billion. The company said the project will boost the company’s construction segment revenue in the next 3 to 4 years during the development phase.
Considering that precast materials and construction ancillary services will be major components for these kinds of development, the project will also benefit Megawide’s business units and support expansion plans in this area, it added.
Under the deal, the group will build approximately 17 kilometers of viaduct structure, including elevated station buildings in Calumpit, Bulacan and Apalit, Pampanga.
“We are honored to be working with the Philippine government on the MCRP. Not only will this project, once totally completed, spur growth in Central Luzon, it will also increase connectivity and unlock exciting commercial opportunities between Metro Manila and Clark,” Saavedra said.
MCRP is part of the larger North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project, one of the big-ticket projects under the “Build, Build, Build” Program. NSCR is a 163-kilometer suburban railway network connecting the regional center of Clark in Central Luzon with Metro Manila and Calamba, Laguna.
The MCRP comprises: Malolos-Clark section (51.2 km) from Malolos to Clark and Clark International Airport, and Blumentritt extension (1.9 km) connecting Solis and Blumentritt stations in Metro Manila District I (City of Manila).