Construction works for the long-awaited Philippine National Railways (PNR) Bicol, also known as the South Long Haul Project, are set to start within the first quarter of 2022, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said.
"Yung construction works mag-uumpisa po first quarter of 2022 (The construction works will start in the first quarter of 2022)," PNR General Manager Junn Magno said in a virtual press briefing on Thursday, Jan. 20.
This, after the DOTr led the monumental contract signing for the PNR Bicol Project's first 380 kilometers from Banlic, Calamba to Daraga, Albay over the week.
DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said they will be requesting the Department of Finance (DOF) for project funding through an official development assistance (ODA) loan from China. They will also now secure the loan financing for the project's Package 1 contract.
According to Batan, the PNR Bicol Package 1 project had its construction contract signed first before the funding from China is secured, unlike other projects funded by other development lenders.
Batan added that P143 billion PNR Bicol Package 1 is the DOTr’s biggest contract to date, while the ongoing North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System is its biggest rail project, followed by the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP).
The DOTr and the PNR target to complete the construction of Package 1 in 2024, with the start of operations in the third quarter of 2025.
Meanwhile, the remaining PNR Bicol contract packages are set for completion between 2024 and 2026, while the entire line is scheduled to go online by 2027.
Once operational, the 560-kilometer PNR Bicol will have 35 stations that will run from Manila through Laguna, Quezon, Camarines Sur, and then to Albay. It will have an extension line in Sorsogon and a branch line in Batangas.
It is also expected to reduce travel time between Manila and Legazpi City from the usual 14 to 18 hours to just six hours using regular commuter trains, and 4 hours and 30 minutes using the line’s express trains.