THE Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is studying the possibility of extending the country’s commuter rail to the envisioned Clark Green City (CGC), a Cabinet official said.
Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said the Bases Conversion and Development Authority has sought his office’s assistance to review the prospect of extending the $7-billion Integrated Luzon Railway to Clark in Pampanga.
While the prospect is still unclear, the DOTC said it will also study the possibility of building a spur line going to Clark.
“[Extending the commuter rail] is going to be costly. What is clear to us is that we will extend the Philippine National Railways [PNR] all the way to Cagayan and Isabela,” Abaya said.
He added that the line to the 9,450-hectare metropolis in the north might use train coaches that will run at a speed of 150 kilometers per hour (kph).
“Clark is 100 km away. If it travels at 150 kph, you get there in 40 minutes. You don’t need a bullet train to get there,” Abaya said.
The commuter rail is a 90-km elevated railway system that will link Malolos, Bulacan, and Calamba, Laguna, and is seen to serve commuters in Mega Manila.
Japan International Cooperation Agency is currently conducting a feasibility study for the line that will interconnect three regions—the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and Calabarzon.
Once the study is completed, the contract will be presented to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board, which is chaired by President Aquino.
Meanwhile, the P607-billion CGC would be a mix of industrial, institutional and commercial areas, which would apply green technologies using renewable energy from sustainable sources by all facilities and buildings in the proposed community.
Neda approved in August 2013 the master plan for the development of the 9,400 hectares of idle land within the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone as a green city.
The Neda Infrastructure Committee has endorsed the master plan to President Aquino for final approval.
The CGC project is expected to generate as much as P1.57 trillion in revenues every year, contribute at least a 4-percent share to the gross domestic product and employ as many as 925,000 workers once completed.
A 50-year development program, the CGC project will cost P607 billion, of which P59 billion will be spent for the first five years, coming mostly from the private sector through the public-private partnership program.