The Department of Transportation has signed contracts for the two contract package for PNR Clark Phase 2 that would pave the way for the construction of the  53-km extension that will connect Makati and Clark International Airport. 

“I want to send a message across, for the Filipino people to know, that we have never stopped working, we have kept the ball rolling to deliver the much-needed transport infrastructure projects of the country. This is our own way of saying, ‘Build, Build, Build’, continues,” he added.

Tugade  said that the contract signing and actual realization are two separate building blocks in bringing a project into its full, and successful fruition.

“Signing a contract is one thing, making it happen, completing it, realizing it is another. Today, we sign a contract, all of us hold hands and make a firm commitment that as we sign together,  we will make this project come true, and together, we shall achieve and we shall accomplish,” he added.

Tugade signed the first two contract packages, along with Acciona Construction Philippines Director Ruben Eugenio Garcia and EEI Corporation Chief Financial Officer Angel Fernandez de la Pradilla for the Package N-04, and POSCO Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. Executive Vice President Dong Ho Kim and Vice President Sung Wook Chung, for the Package N-05.

Contract Package N-04 of the PNR Clark Phase 2 covers the civil engineering and building works for approximately 6.3 kilometers of the main line, and 1.6 kilometers of the depot’s access line, with one underground station serving Clark International Airport (CRK).

Contract Package N-05, on the other hand, covers the civil engineering and building works for the Clark Railway Depot, covering an overall area of approximately 33 hectares, including construction of the Operations Control Center, stabling yard, workshops, training center and other ancillary buildings in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

For his part, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Southeast Asia Director General Ramesh Subramaniam asserted the company’s full commitment to the country’s “Build, Build, Build” Program, and to its partnership with the DOTr, in realizing various transport infrastructure projects, such as the MRT-4, EDSA Greenways, and the NSCR Project, among others.

“I would like to reiterate the ADB’s strongest commitment to the Philippines’ ‘Build, Build, Build’ Infrastructure Program, and our strong partnership, particularly with the Department of Transportation,”  Subramaniam said.

Further, he expressed his felicitations to the DOTr, JICA, and other private partners involved in the realization of the PNR Clark Phase 2, as a major milestone for the project and the country’s transport sector has been successfully unfolded today.

“On behalf of ADB, on behalf of its management, I’d like to congratulate you and your team, and the two successful contractors. This is a very special day, and Secretary Tugade, it is definitely your strong leadership, your drive, and your unwavering and relentless commitment to the Philippines that has brought us all today,”  Subramaniam added.

The 53-km PNR Clark Phase 2 (Malolos-Clark), once partially operable by 2022,  will reduce travel time between Malolos, Bulacan and Clark International Airport (CRK) to 30-35 minutes, from the original 1 hour and 30 minutes. The leg will also feature the country’s first airport rail express.