DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 25 July)—Three private companies have expressed interest to fund the construction of the Mindanao Railway Project, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Leo Tereso Magno said.
In a press conference on the first day of the two-day Mindanao Development Forum at the Acacia Hotel here, Magno said that two firms from South Korea and one from Japan have initially shown intent to pursue the project, which was started during the administration of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
He said that the current Marcos Jr. administration is changing the technical description of the project from a diesel-powered railway to a more modern railway system utilizing a technology that will run on electricity.
He said that the government wants to build a railway project that could carry cargoes and not just passengers to help move goods from different farms, which will boost the agricultural sector of Mindanao.
Magno said that under the previous technical description, the proposed railway project could only carry passengers.
He said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is finalizing the terms of reference for the conduct of a new feasibility study.
He said Kim Dong Man, chairman of Mindanao Oriental Rail Technology, wrote a letter of intent to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the design and construction of the Mindanao Railway Project
The executive said in a letter dated July 12 that his consortium already “made an ocular inspection of all the possible Mindanao routes, including nearby major economic hubs and ports in the region.”
Kim said the company was impressed with the “beauty and potential of Mindanao” as a major economic hub to support the country’s growing economy.
The Korean believed that the railway project will support Mindanao’s various industries, including, among others, agriculture, food processing, exports, mineral processing, and tourism.
He said that his company commits to utilize South Korea’s railway technology for the Mindanao Railway Project.
Magno said that the government has several options to obtain the financial requirement needed to build the railway system, including its own resources, private-public partnership (PPP), or foreign loans.
“We have a President who believes in PPP,” he said.
Last October 2023, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista announced that that the Philippine government would no longer pursue negotiations with the Chinese government for an official development assistance (ODA).
Bautista said that the Philippine government is “looking for another funding source.”
According to the DOTr, the cost of the entire Tagum-Davao-Digos (TDD) line is pegged at P81.7 billion.
The stations of the proposed TDD line will be located in Tagum, Carmen, and Panabo in Davao del Norte; Mudiang, Maa, and Toril in Davao City; and Santa Cruz and Digos City in Davao del Sur.
DOTr said the TDD segment will reduce travel time between Tagum and Digos from 3.5 hours to 1.3 hours and will provide “passengers safe, fast, and reliable transport options on the TDD commuter line.”
A flagship project of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program, the railway was originally targeted to be completed in 2021, and expected to serve approximately 134,000 riders a day by 2022, up to 237,000 by 2032, and 375,000 by 2042. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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