CLARK FREEPORT – A status report on “big ticket projects” on airport and rail undertakings being done by the government was made by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) during the recent Philippine Economic Briefing here.
Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade updated Central Luzon stakeholders saying the new passenger terminal building of Clark International Airport (CIA) that broke ground last December 20, 2017 will be completed as scheduled in 2022.
“Once completed, it will accommodate an additional eight million passengers annually,” he declared.
Tugade also said the pre-construction activities for the Phase 1 of PNR Clark started last January with actual construction targeted by November this year.
“Phase I is a 38-kilometer segment spanning Tutuban to Malolos City in Bulacan. With this line, commuters from Tutuban will reach Malolos in as little as 35 minutes,” Tugade said.
Phase II, on the other hand, is a 69-kilometer stretch from Malolos City to Clark.
PNR Clark will have a total of 17 stations – Tutuban, Solis, Valenzuela, Caloocan, Meycauayan, Marilao, Bocaue, Balagtas, Guiguinto, Malolos, Calumpit, Apalit, San Fernando, Angeles, Clark, CIA, and New Clark City.
Meanwhile, Tugade said MRT-7 is 22.96 percent complete as of February and will meet its target date in 2020.
This is a 22-kilometer rail line that will connect Quezon City to San Jose Del Monte City. The manufacturing of the 108 rolling stocks is in progress. At present, there are five train sets completed, equivalent to 15 cars, he reported.
“Through the trust and confidence of the people and with the leadership of President Duterte, the DOTr, Department of Public Works and Highways and Bases Conversion and Development Authority will work hand-in-hand towards the implementation and realization of the Golden Age of Infrastructure,” Tugade said.
“There is no doubt and it is a given hypothesis that if you want to develop and grow, there’s got to be infrastructure. Infrastructure must be developed in order for any economy to have its best to really grow,” he added.
