THE construction of the 69.5-kilometer Malolos to Clark International Airport segment of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) North Phase 2 Project will be funded jointly by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
This was disclosed by Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy Batan during a press briefing in Clark.
“ADB will provide financing for the civil works of the structure of the elevated two-way railtracks. It will be built along the old routes of the PNR,” Batan said.
JICA is completing the detailed engineering design for the P211.5 billion project, he said.
“JICA conducted a series of public hearings regarding the PNR North Phase 2 project,” Batan added.
PNR North 2 will be an electrified, fully elevated and a standard-gauge railway.
It is designed to ensure seamless interoperability for the entire Philippine railways system.
“We have coordinated with National Housing Authority on the relocation of about 1,000 families along the route. It includes all illegal structures in Malolos and Calumpit in Bulacan as well as Apalit, San Simon, Santo Tomas, and the cities of San Fernando and Angeles in Pampanga,” he said.
Phase 2 will complement the PNR North Phase 1 which runs from Tutuban in Manila to Malolos City.
Once completed by the first quarter of 2022, travel time from Malolos to Clark International Airport will be reduced from 2 hours to 30 minutes.
DOTr is now studying linking this to New Clark City in Tarlac.