DOTr signs deals for LRT-1, PNR extension projects

FILE: Philippine National Railway (PNR) (Photo by thepeculiartraveler/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

MANILA — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) inked an agreement with Mitsubishi Corporation Friday for the procurement of new light rail vehicles (LRVs) for the Light Rail Transit-Line 1 (LRT-1).

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade and Mitsubishi Corp. Senior Vice President Tetsuji Nakagawa signed the deal for the acquisition of 120 new LRVs for the rail line’s 12-kilometer extension from Baclaran to Bacoor, Cavite.

The LRVs are designed with four LRV configuration. Each train set would have a minimum of 1,388 passengers and are energy efficient and have low maintenance cost.

Tugade ensured the smooth implementation of the LRT-1 South Extension Project.

“It is a beautiful day because we are putting life to a project that has been delayed for a long time. No way will I delay any further. No way will I procrastinate. It is high time to put this project in high motion,” said Tugade.

The first four LRVs are set to be delivered on August 31, 2020 while some 40 LRVs are expected to come on December 31, 2020.

Mitsubishi Corp. Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarile, the project subcontractor which is based in Spain, is expected to complete the delivery of 120 LRVs on December 31, 2021.
The LRT-1 Cavite Extension will start its construction next year and is poised to be completed within the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The procurement contract was witnessed by Ambassador of Spain Luis Calvo Castrano, representatives from the Embassy of Japan, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) and high-ranking officials of the department.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Railways (PNR) also signed a contract with NSTren Consortium for the construction of the Manila-Clark Railway system.

NSTren Consortium, the project’s construction supervision consultant, will handle the construction of the Tutuban-Malolos segment of the 106-kilometer rail system that will connect Manila and New Clark City, which is slated to begin December to January 2018.

The Tutuban-Malolos segment is targeted to be partially operational by 2020 and fully completed by 2021, while construction of the Malolos-New Clark City segment is seen to finish by 2022.

Also known as the North-South Commuter Railway Project, the Tutuban-Malolos segment was approved by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board in February 2015 with signing of the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan in November 2015.

“The two contracts signed will not only pave the way for the delivery of railway infrastructure that will carry more than 1 million passengers per day by 2021, these contracts and the bidding processes that led to it has also saved the Filipino taxpayers close to PHP 5 billion,” said DOTr Assistant Secretary for Railways Timothy John Batan. (PNA)