The Public-Private Partnership Center Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) Committee on Friday, Feb. 17, approved a total of P200 million for the feasibility studies of the Mindanao Railway Phase 3 (Northern Mindanao) and the San Mateo Railway.
The PDMF is a revolving fund managed by the PPP Center to enhance the investment environment for PPPs and develop a pipeline of viable infrastructure projects.
Specifically, the Committee approved P100 million to support pre-investment studies and transaction advisory services requirements for each railway project.
The feasibility study will determine the alignment of the railways, the number of stations, and services, among other things.
Once the studies are completed, the projects will be submitted for the approval of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee to confirm their viability for public-private partnership (PPP) implementation.
The Northern Mindanao Railway will initially serve the metropolitan area of Cagayan de Oro up to Laguindingan Airport and may eventually connect with the rest of the Mindanao Railway System.
The proposed Mindanao Railway Project Phase 3 (Northern Mindanao) is a 54.8-kilometer segment of the Mindanao Railway System spanning across the highly urbanized city of Cagayan de Oro, connecting the Municipalities of Laguindingan and Villanueva, Misamis Oriental.
The whole Mindanao Railway is a 1,544-kilometer railway system spanning the entire island of Mindanao.
On the other hand, the proposed San Mateo Railway Project involves the financing, design, construction, and operations and maintenance (O&M) of an approximately 17-km feeder railway line connecting LRT 2 to the municipalities of San Mateo and Rodriguez, Rizal.
The rail project will run from Marikina City, San Mateo and Rodriquez Rizal, and is expected to have six stations traversing mostly parallel to the riverbanks.
The PDMF Committee is chaired by the NEDA with the Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the PPP Center as members of the Committee.
The PPP Center acts as the PDMF Secretariat.