China and the Philippines signed a contract on Saturday to build a railway on the Philippines’ main Luzon Island, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said.
Costing some $940m, the Subic-Clark railway project, to be financed by China, will be the highest-funded government-to-government project to date between the two countries.
With the construction period of 42 months, the 71-km, single-track cargo railway will connect Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Clark International Airport, reports Chinese state news agency, Xinhua.
Eventually, the railway will extend to the New Clark City special economic zone.
"Once completed, the railway will build a resilient linkage between ports, railways, and airports along the Subic-Clark corridor, which will improve the logistic efficiency, trim the transportation cost and support the potential demand for freight services and economic activities in the region," the Chinese Embassy said, according to Xinhua.
Negotiations over a Chinese loan for the railway would begin soon, the embassy said.
In 2017 the Philippine government under President Rodriguo Duterte initiated the "Build, Build, Build" infrastructure plan, which intended to spend between $160bn and $180bn on public transportation.
Image: Costing some $940m, the Subic-Clark railway project, to be financed by China, will be the highest-funded government-to-government project to date between the two countries (Image courtesy of the Chinese Embassy in Manila)
