JAPANESE Ambassador Kazuhiro Koshikawa joined Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John R. Batan and Asian Development Bank (ADB) Director-General Ramesh Subramaniam at the site inspection of the ongoing Japan-funded North-South Commuter Railway Extension (NSCR-Ex) project, which will span from Malolos to Tutuban, Manila.
The September 18 ceremony at the site of Clark International Airport Station in Mabalacat, Pampanga marked the start of construction for the NSCR-Ex. Jointly financed by the ADB and the government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, there will be two extension lines to strengthen the Philippines’s mass-transport network and expand the economic sphere of Metro Manila, which is seen to alleviate traffic congestion, improve the investment environment, as well as mitigate effects of air pollution and climate change.
The 51-kilometer North extension will run from Malolos in Bulacan to Clark International Airport in Pampanga, while the 55-km South augmentation will stretch from Solis, Manila to Calamba, Laguna.
The project will utilize the Japanese railway system using energy-efficient and reliable trains. The technical aspects will also complement the ongoing NSCR Malolos to Tutuban Project adopting Japanese technology on flood-resilient and antiseismic design to withstand earthquakes. The official development assistance, or ODA, yen loan will be allocated for the procurement of rolling stock and railway system, as well as consulting services. The ADB loan funds, meanwhile, will be placed on civil works.
The NSCR-Ex project is one of the key infrastructure projects supported by Japan under the Philippine government’s Build, Build, Build program. Its Japanese counterpart has been supporting the local railway sector for many years—including the expansion of Light Rail Transit Line 1 to Cavite, the recently completed extension of LRT Line 2 to Masinag, Antipolo under the Capacity Enhancement of Mass Transit Systems in Metro Manila project, the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 Rehabilitation projects, as well as the Metro Manila Subway.