CENTRAL Luzon is seen to become a major logistics hub in the country after the Department of Transportation (DOTr) finishes the scheduled Philippine National Railways (PNR) railway projects.
DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said during the recent Sulong Pilipinas 2018 Philippine Development Forum that the pre-construction of the Phase I of PNR Clark Railway started in January 2018 with actual construction scheduled in January 2019 and completion targeted by 2022.
“Phase I is a 38-km segment spanning from Tutuban (in Metro Manila) to Malolos City in Bulacan. It will have 10 stations and can accommodate up to 340,000 passengers per day,” Tugade said.
Phase II covers is a 53-km stretch from Malolos City to Clark, he added.
“The project is on detailed design stage and we will start the construction in May 2019 and completion targeted by 2022. It will have six stations and can accommodate 340,000 passengers per day as well,” Tugade said.
He said that the DOTr is now in the bidding process for the project, and the department will make sure that in two and a half or three years the rail system from Tutuban to Clark will be finished.
Meanwhile, construction of the Subic-Clark Cargo Railway will begin in 2019 and will be completed by 2022. The 70-km railway will connect Subic Port with Clark International Airport and other economic hubs in Luzon.
“When all of these projects will be accomplished, you can just imagine the logistics hub which we are trying to create in Central Luzon,” Tugade said.
“I feel that creating a logistics hub here can be a reality as it will be ideal because then, you will have an airport, a highway, a seaport, and a railway,” he said.