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Louella Desiderio - The Philippine Star
April 17, 2025 | 12:00am
The Malolos-Clark line is part of the bigger 163-kilometer North- South Commuter Railway Project.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved the $1.45 billion final tranche of its financing package for the Malolos-Clark Railway Project (MCRP) that will link the northern and southern provinces of Luzon to Metro Manila. In a statement, the ADB said the approved amount is the second and final tranche of its multi-tranche financing facility for the railway project.
It approved the first tranche of financing for the MCRP amounting to $1.3 billion in 2019.
The MCRP covers the 53.1-kilometer segment of the 163-km North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), which is also being supported by the ADB through financing for the system’s southern leg.
“The MCRP is one of ADB’s biggest project financing in the entire Asia and Pacific region. We are proud to partner with the government in making the vision of a world-class mass transportation system in the country a reality. This major transformative project will spur more investments, create jobs and contribute to sustaining the country’s growth momentum,” ADB Philippines country director Pavit Ramachandran said.
Co-financing the project is the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which will deliver the rolling stock and railway systems such as track, electrical and mechanical systems.
Featuring regular commuter trains, express trains with stops at stations with high passenger demand, and the country’s first airport express trains connecting to Clark International Airport, the MCRP is expected to help decongest Metro Manila and promote regional economic integration through linkages to the Central Luzon Corridor.
It is also expected to help reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions as people shift from private cars to mass transit.
Three other projects worth around $1.1 billion are in the pipeline for possible ADB funding this year.
Among those in the pipeline is the ADB’s support for the government’s Walang Gutom Program under the Reducing Food Insecurity and Undernutrition with Electronic Vouchers or REFUEL Project amounting to $400 million.
Ramachandran said the ADB is hoping to have this “approved by quarter two this year.”
Also in the pipeline for ADB funding this year are the Marine Ecosystems for Blue Economy Development Program worth about $400 million and the Accelerating Expansion and Sustainability of Health Services for Universal Health Care amounting to $300 million.
The three projects are among the biggest in terms of loan amount in the list of projects for delivery this year.
Ramachandran said ADB financing for projects in the Philippines is expected to reach around $4 billion for this year.
