The development of several railway systems in key cities and provinces in Mindanao—pegged at about P86 billion, according to government estimates—should start by the middle of the Duterte administration.
Transportation Spokesman Cherie Mercado-Santos said the department is eager to jump-start the development of train systems in the South, and the government is bent on constructing these much-needed facilities in any mode possible.
“It is included in the program for the midterm until the full six years of the administration. It is being studied, and we are open for proposals coming from the private sector,” she said.
The program will involve the construction of circumferential railway system that will be built in six phases.
The first phase of the proposed railway system will be the construction of a line from Iligan to Gingoog in Misamis Oriental. The second phase is a system from Nasipit in Agusan del Norte to Surigao City.
The third phase will run from Prosperidad in Agusan del Sur to Tagum in Davao del Norte. It will be followed by the line from General Santos City to Cotabato City, then a system from Aurora in Zamboanga del Sur to Zamboanga City; and the line from Cagayan de Oro to Malungon in Sarangani.
Santos said the government may pursue the project under the Public-Private Partnership Program, or wait for a private company to submit an unsolicited offer.
“We’re letting the private sector know that these are the projects that the department will prioritize and will bid out,” she said.
The project was first introduced about two decades ago.