The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of up to $4.3 meant to kickstart a project that will revitalize a deteriorating railway infrastructure in the Philippines.
Among other urban centers across Asia, the Philippines has lagged behind since before World War II when it used to have more than 1,100 kilometers (683.5 miles) of operational versus the 77 kilometers as of 2016, per government data.
With the aforementioned amount, the 55-kilometer South Commuter Railway project becomes the ADB’s largest financing, to date, within the Asian and Pacific region, per Ahmed Saeed, ADB’s vice president.
- Ad hoc committee created for the Php7 billion Baguio City monorail project
- MRT-7 to start partial operations by December 2022
Once built, the railway project is anticipated to cut the travel time between Manila and Calamba City, Laguna by half—around 1.25 hours from the usual 2.5 hours.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency will be specifically providing the wherewithal for the railway systems and rolling stocks.
Per its portfolio, all of ADB’s projects are aimed to be resilient to the ravaging effect of disasters, including earthquakes and typhoons, according to the statement.