PRESIDENT Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. has approved the ₱229-billion public-private partnership (PPP) project for the North-South railway operations of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) that would connect northern and southern Luzon to the capital region of Metro Manila.
This means that the PPP undertaking has finally been cleared for the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), dubbed as a grand project of the Marcos Jr.’s administration.
At its meeting last week on Tuesday, July 15, the Economy and Development Council (EDC), chaired by the president himself, gave the go signal for the PPP arrangement regarding the O&M of the railway project.
The total estimated cost of the O&M contract has been tagged at approximately ₱229.32 billion.
The NSCR is a 147-kilometer elevated railway line that will ease travel across three regions: Central Luzon, Metro Manila and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon).
With construction already in advanced stages along the alignment, the project is expected to benefit as many as 800,000 passengers daily in its opening year, eventually serving up to 1 million commuters.