The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday, July 13, signed three civil works contracts worth P52 billion with two contractor consortium to build the Metro Manila segment of the country's longest rail system, the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR).

"We continue to show our commitment to realizing the dream of a more efficient and inclusive public transportation system that every Filipino deserve,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. remarked during today's contract signing ceremony in Malacañang.

"We want to impress on the contractors the importance of meeting schedules so the whole NSCR project can be completed as promised," added Transport Secretary Jaime J. Bautista.

The railway system will transform lives and communities, and bring back the culture of mass rail transport in the country, he pointed out.

The two joint venture companies - PT Adhi Karya (Persero) Tbk and PT PP (Persero) Tbk of Indonesia and Leighton Contractors (Asia) Ltd. and First Balfour Inc. of Australia, must be able to construct a combined length of 14.9 kilometers of elevated and ground-level rail tracks, including modern train stations in Blumentritt in Manila, Buendia in Makati, EDSA, Senate in Pasay City, Bicutan in Taguig, and Sucat in Parañaque.

Under the P52 billion-worth civil work contract packages, Blumentritt station will have an elevated pedestrian connection with LRT-1, while the EDSA station will also have an elevated pedestrian connection to MRT-3 Magallanes station.

The Senate station will be near the Senate subway station, while the Bicutan station will share the same platform with the Bicutan subway station.

With the financial support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the governments of Indonesia and Australia, Bautista expressed confidence as the country "inches closer to completing the flagship rail infrastructure."

The MCRP and SCRP are part of the 147-kilometer NSCR System meant to reduce travel time between Clark, Pampanga and Calamba, Laguna to two hours and service over 800,000 passengers daily once operational.