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Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Caraga lawmakers back Minda railway system
By Ben Serrano
Caraga Correspondent
BUTUAN CITY -- Butuan City Representative Leovigildo Banaag and Surigao del Sur Representative Prospero Pichay Jr. are pushing for the immediate start of the much awaited Mindanao Railway System Project.
The two Mindanao lawmakers said the cheap means of transportation it can provide for the people and goods in Mindanao will spur economic development and progress of the country's second largest island.
Banaag, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources told Sun.Star, the railway system for Mindanao can provide fast and cheap transportation of goods of the island from its vast, rich natural and agricultural resources.
"Cheap means of transporting goods and people can reduce additional cost of finished products sold in markets and more people easily move around which means more tourism investments because of accessibility," Banaag explained.
Although, in the original plan Surigao del Sur was not part of the railway system project Pichay said the project will indirectly benefit Caraga Region.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Regional Director Benjamen Tumaliuan, Caraga Region supplies 65 percent of the country's wood supply needs in the lumber and furniture industries.
Among the 37 mining investment areas in the country, 17 are situated in Caraga Region, which produces gold, copper, nickel and chromite.
Phase 1 of the project is the cities of Cagayan de Oro-Butuan-Surigao line, which covers a total distance of 320 kilometers.
A pre-feasibility study was recently done by Transport East West Expert Team GmbH Germany known as "TEWET" and the Austrian Rail Engineering (ARE) based in Vienna, Austria.
The National Government through the Philippine National Railways (PNR) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the project under a concessional loan extended by the governments of Austria and Germany.
Phase III of the Mindanao Railway System Project is the cities of Butuan-Davao-General Santos line which covers a total of 390 kilometers passing through provinces of Agusan del Sur, Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte and Saranggani.
The project will be handled also by foreign railway construction giants, TEWET of Germany and Austrian Rail Engineering (ARE) Banaag and Pichay claimed that since the pre-feasibility studies have already been completed the National Government and the governments of Austria and Germany can start the project the soonest.
The cities of Iligan-Zamboanga line are to be handled by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India through its subsidiary IPCON International Limited and the Thaipicon and Industry Co. Ltd. (TPCON) of Thailand.
TPCON and IPCON are also responsible for the construction of the cities of Cagayan de Oro-Iligan line.
(August 9, 2006 issue)
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