On January 17, 2022, a joint venture company composed of three Chinese railway companies won the bid for the first phase of the long-distance transportation section of the southern line of the Philippine National Railway. It will undertake the longest and fastest railway project in the Philippines so far to improve local infrastructure and enhance Transportation capacity to meet travel needs.

The Philippine Department of Transportation said in a statement on January 18, 2022 that the first phase of the project will start from Calamba City, Laguna Province and end in Legazpi City, Albay Province, with a total length of 380 kilometers, connecting the southern part of Luzon Island. Many provinces are one of the key projects of the “Build, Build, Build” project in the Philippines, with a total project value of 142 billion Philippine pesos (about 2.8 billion US dollars).

The three Chinese companies that have signed the contract are China National Railway Group Co., Ltd., China Railway Third Bureau Group Co., Ltd. and China Railway Engineering Design Consulting Group Co., Ltd. The Chinese company in this project will design and build the southern long-distance railway project for the Philippine National Railway Company (namely the Philippine National Railway Company). Iron rice bone line project, PNR Bicol) Phase I project.

The project is expected to operate at a maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour for passenger trains and 80 to 100 kilometers per hour for freight trains, with an annual capacity of 14.6 million passengers, the statement said. After the project is completed, the travel time from the capital Manila to the southern Bicol region will be shortened from the current 12 hours to 4 hours.

Huang Xilian, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, said that this is not only the longest and fastest railway project in the Philippines so far, but also another milestone in China-Philippines friendship and cooperation. During the construction of the project, 10,000 jobs will be directly created each year, and related industries will be driven to create more employment opportunities to promote economic development along the project. Editor/Sang Xiaomei