ADB will be financing civil works of the Malolos–Clark Railway Project, including the stations, bridges, and viaducts for the elevated railway alignment and a tunnel leading to the underground station at Clark International Airport. It will also assist the government in using global standards for procurement and environmental and resettlement safeguards.
It will be ADB’s single largest-ever infrastructure project financing.
The project is being co-financed with up to US$2bn by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which will provide the funds for the rolling stock and the railway systems.
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The new passenger line will connect Malolos, a suburb north of Manila, to the Clark economic zone and Clark International Airport in Central Luzon. The Malolos–Clark railway is part of the Philippine government’s North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project, a 163km suburban network that is due for completion by 2025.
“ADB’s partnership with the Philippines has always been strong, and it has become stronger in the last three years,” said ADB president Mr. Takehiko Nakao. “The government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ (BBB) program is clearly steering the much-needed acceleration in infrastructure spending, from less than 2% of gross domestic product a decade ago to 6.3% now, well on track to achieve the 7% target by 2022. One of the key flagship projects of the BBB program is the Malolos–Clark railway.”
The project will be built on an elevated alignment, helping reduce the impact on communities, avoid disruption of activities, and mitigate flood risks along the route. It will use construction methods such as prefabricated viaduct segments to limit the need for land acquisition and accelerate construction.
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