LEGAZPI CITY—Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda said giant firms San Miguel Corp., Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investment Corp. have indicated interest to invest in the rehabilitation of the P177-billion south line of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) under a public-private partnership scheme.
Called the PNR Modernization Program, the project will cover the rehabilitation of the 653-kilometer railway from Tutuban to Legazpi then Sorsogon.
Salceda said he has been pushing for the PNR southbound rehabilitation that would give life again to the once Bicol pride but now idle Bicol Express route and that the Department
of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is ready to auction off the PNR railway project to interested bidders. He said Ayala is eyeing a partnership with MPIC, adding that he has also personally discussed the matter with SMC President Ramon S. Ang.
As chairman of the Regional Development Council, Salceda lamented that since Typhoon Reming struck in November 2006, the PNR southbound travel to Legazpi City has yet to be realized due to damages in railroad tracks, surfacing from time to time, especially in the Quezon area, every time a typhoon occurs.
Certain Bicolano leaders, however, are contemplating on blocking the DOTC’s plan to conduct the bidding process of the multibillion-peso PNR modernization project, describing it as a wasteful spending. Known civic leader Melvin SJ del Puerto of Naga City told senators during a recent Senate hearing conducted by the subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Public Services chaired by Sen. JV Ejercito, that the much-vaunted PNR modernization plan is only a waste of money, if not changed.
Del Puerto raised serious concern during Ejercito’s committee hearing that the PNR megaproject will not bring significant long-term benefits, considering that the huge amount will not be used for modernization or acquisition of more modern high-speed trains, which run on a Standard Gauge Railways (SGR), but only for repair and refurbishing of outdated and slow-moving trains, saying the latter are the only ones allowed to run on an SGR.
Invited by the Senate as a resource person, del Puerto emphasized that the modernization must have the purpose of providing shorter travel time and durable, reliable train units.
1 comment
Any PPP type of a deal to modernize the PNR South line to Bicol should be to shorten travel time and upgrade train sets and equipment. Without these new and faster trains, better infrastructure and new or refurbished stations along the line would be a waste of limited resources. I agree with Mr. del Puerto’s analysis and position which are valid.