The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said that around five companies are lining up to be the operator of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), as the big-ticket project continues to draw investor interest amid corruption scandals that have hounded the public works sector.

Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said four to five companies have expressed interest in the operations and maintenance (O&M) contract of the NSCR.

Lopez did not disclose names, but he said the interested firms are a mix of foreign and local.

Last month, the DOTr concluded market sounding activities to present the O&M project to both foreign and local investors. The concession agreement was pitched in Manila, Singapore, Paris, and Tokyo.

The DOTr is currently finalizing the bidding document for the concession to address concerns and other feedback received during the roadshows.

Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan earlier said that the agency is addressing concerns about the NSCR’s return on investment, which is typically raised in every public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.

Despite dominating headlines and igniting nationwide protests, Lopez said corruption issues in public infrastructure—particularly flood control—have not been a concern for investors.

Several government officials, engineers, and contractors have been tagged in ongoing investigations for allegedly pocketing public funds that led to substandard construction and nonexistent flood control systems.

“As I always say, DOTr projects are quite unique and peculiar, because all our big-ticket projects are ODA (official development assistance)-funded,” Lopez told reporters.

“So the internal controls are different, the processes are different, and the checks and balances are different as well,” he added.

Majority of projects under the DOTr are financed under ODA, with the likes of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) also scrutinizing the project.

Lopez said this additional layer of oversight gives him the confidence that the agency’s projects are free from corruption.

Likewise, he said this also provides assurance to investors that the capital it will spend for projects will be put to good use.

This is especially relevant for NSCR, as the contract to operate the railway amounts to ₱229 billion.

Under a concession period of 15 years, the contract covers trains, depots, stations, guideways, electromechanical systems, and auxiliary facilities, spanning the distance of Clark to Calamba.

It will also include the management of interoperations of NSCR with the under-construction Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), particularly at the Bicutan to Calamba segment.

Lopez said the DOTr is planning to start the bidding process for the project around the last week of October or the first week of November. He said this was recommended to the agency by its transaction adviser, the ADB.

The DOTr had earlier planned to issue the bidding notice within the last week of September or the first week of October.

The ADB expects the bidding period to run over the next six months, with the contract awarded to the private operator by mid-2026.

The DOTr plans to onboard an operator months ahead of the scheduled start of the NSCR’s pre-operations in December 2027. Full operations of the railway are targeted for January 2032.

Spanning 35 stations, the NSCR seeks to accommodate 750,000 passengers daily at full operations. The project will cut travel time from Clark International Airport in Pampanga to Calamba, Laguna, from four hours to less than three hours.