ANGELES CITY- The North Luzon Railways Corp. (NorthRail) clarified yesterday that the exact cost of the controversial Caloocan-to-Clark NorthRail project has yet to be determined, contrary to reports that it would require additional $280 million.
NorthRail President Edgardo Pamintuan relayed this to Punto! through his executive secretary Linda Pamintuan who said the report on the $280 million additional cost could apparently have stemmed from “one of the old proposals” made by former NLRC president Arsenio Bartolome.
Pamintuan himself could not be immediately reached as he was still in Kuwait as part of a team negotiating for Kuwaiti air flights to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here. He is also chairman of the Subic-Clark Advocacy and Development Council.
His executive secretary noted that the NorthRail team is still in China to finalize negotiations for the “technical aspect” of the railway whose construction was awarded to the China National Machinery and Equipment Corp. (CNMEC).
She said the total cost of the project could not be determined until its technical aspects have been finalized. She said her boss is expected to announce the total cost of the railway project soon after the team has arrived from China next week.
Earlier reports cited the $280 million additional cost reportedly as being contained in documents submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority.
In an earlier interview, however, Pamintuan had justified some $290 million additional cost demanded by CNMEC, citing not only changes in railway design, but also rise in cost of construction materials.
Last February, CNMEC abandoned the project amid controversies on right-of-way and its demand for additional $290 million for the project, triggering a series of talks between them and NLRC held in Beijing and Manila.
Pamintuan said that apart from the move to shift from diesel to electricity, changes on the railway project’s tracks were also made, from narrow to the normal width.
The original cost of the first segment of the project from Caloocan City to Malolos, Bulacan was estimated at $503 million covering 32.1-kilometers. The other half stretching over 50 kilometers up to Clark Freeport would cost over $500 million.
The Chinese Export-Import Bank had already released some $400 million for the first phase, while the second phase is to be funded by another $500 million loan from the same bank, and $90 million from the Development Bank of the Philippines.
The railway will cut traveling time between Manila and Clark from one hour to just about 30 minutes.
