The Department of Transportation (DOTr) plans to partner with Chinese government for the funding of the P151 billion (Dh11 billion) railway project that will connect Laguna to Sorsogon.
“We would like to have partnerships with countries using their own technologies. What the economic cluster decided is that the group of Luzon will go to the Japanese government and that the group of Bicol hopefully will go to the Chinese government,” DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade told the reporters on Tuesday.
The Laguna to Sorsogon railway line is 581 kilometers long, making it the longest railway in the country.
The first two phases of the country’s longest railway project—the P225 billion (Dh16.45 billion) Manila to Clark railway and the P134 billion (Dh9.79 billion) Manila to Laguna line—will be funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
In 2015, JICA and the Aquino administration inked a P105 billion (Dh7.67 billion) loan deal for the Malolos to Clark railway project.
JICA will also fund another P150 billion (Dh 10.96 billion) project that will connect Malolos to Clark.
JICA described the series of railway projects as “a game changer in the Philippines’ public transport system”.
Photo Credits: Wikimedia
