The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board has approved six transport infrastructure projects.
These comprise two projects under the North-South Luzon Railway master plan; the Panguil Bay Bridge; the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX); the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX)–South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Connector; and the re-bidding of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax).
“Most of these projects aim to have a more reliable and efficient transport infrastructure system,” NEDA Director General Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement. “These are consistent with the government’s thrust to increase investment in connective infrastructure.”
The first of the two projects under the North-South Railway master plan is Phase 1 of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project for implementation by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). It involves construction of a 36.7-kilometer narrow-gauge elevated commuter railway from Malolos to Tutuban. The project aims to improve efficiency of land transportation capacity and provide a more environmentally sustainable mode of transport in Metro Manila.
The NSCR Phase 1 will use the Philippine National Railway’s (PNR) right-of-way and have 10 stations as well as a depot in Valenzuela. The estimated total project cost is P117.3 billion, and the target implementation date is 2015 with a 35-year operation period starting 2020.
The other is the North-South Railway Project-South Line, a public-private partnership (PPP) project of the DOTC with an estimated total construction cost of P170.7 billion. This project consists of commuter railway operations between Tutuban and Calamba, Laguna. It also includes a long-haul railway operation between Tutuban and Legazpi City, Albay and on the branch line between Calamba and Batangas, as well as an extension between Legazpi and Matnog.
The Panguil Bay Bridge Project, on the other hand, has the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as implementing agency. It involves building a bridge across Panguil Bay to connect the City of Tangub in Misamis Occidental and the Municipality of Tubod in Lanao del Norte.
One of the priority developments in Mindanao, the bridge will potentially reduce travel time along the 100-kilometer national road between Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao del Norte from 2.5 hours to 37 minutes. The P5.09-billion project will be fully financed by the government and targeted for implementation by 2015 through 2018.
The three other development programs approved by the NEDA Board, which is chaired by President Benigno Aquino III, are also PPP projects.
The expansion of the TPLEX project from two (one lane per direction) to four lanes (two lanes per direction) entails an estimated government support of P2 billion. Full project cost for the TPLEX Ultimate Stage is P24.303 billion, involving the design, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the 88.5-kilometer expressway from the terminus of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) in Tarlac City to Rosario, La Union.
The P20-billion NLEX-SLEX Connector Project, also by the DPWH, will now proceed through unsolicited mode subject to a Swiss challenge. It involves construction, operation and maintenance of a 13.4-kilometer four-lane elevated expressway over the PNR right-of-way that will start in Caloocan City and end in Buendia, Makati. This will connect the NLEX and SLEX to decongest traffic in Metro Manila.
Finally, the rebidding of the P35.4-billion Calax project encompasses a total length of 47.018 kilometers starting from the Cavite Expressway in Kawit and ending at the SLEX-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna. There are nine interchanges to be located in Kawit, Daang Hari, Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway, Silang, Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay, Laguna Blvd., Technopark, and a toll barrier before SLEX.
“These projects will support the government’s goal of increasing infrastructure spending to at least 5.1 percent in 2016. We hope they will be implemented efficiently and effectively,” Balisacan noted.
