The Department of Transportation of the Philippines recently signed a commercial contract with a Chinese company for the Subic-Clark Railway Project worth about US $940 million.The project is by far the largest inter-governmental cooperation project between China and the Philippines, and is also the flagship project of the Philippine government's "Great Construction, Special Construction" program.
Located in central Luzon, the Philippines, the project is an important part of the island's planned rail network, connecting the Subic Bay Free Port Area and Clark International Airport, as well as connecting with the Philippine Northern Line.The Subic - Clark Railway is about 71 km long and is planned to extend to Clark New Town in the long term.The project, which mainly adopts Chinese standards, will be designed according to a single-track standard gauge freight railway and will take about 42 months to build.After completion, it will realize the multi-modal transportation of ports, railways and air in the economic core region of the Philippines, effectively improve the efficiency of logistics and transport, reduce logistics costs, and help unleash the economic development potential of the regions along the route.The Chinese embassy in the Philippines said the project would be financed by China.In the next step, China and the Philippines will negotiate a loan agreement for the project.
In April 2017, the Philippine government launched the "Build, Build" plan, which is expected to invest 8.4 trillion Philippine pesos (US $174.8 billion) in infrastructure development over six years.The construction projects cover roads, Bridges, airports, railways, ports, flood control facilities, etc.As the joint construction of the "One Belt And One Road" and the "Great Construction and Special Construction" plan have been fully aligned, a number of Chinese companies have participated in the infrastructure construction of the Philippines, and the cooperation projects between the two governments are also making steady progress.
On January 14, the Ministry of Public Works and Highways of the Philippines signed a commercial contract with a Chinese company for the Davo-Samar Island Bridge project.Located in the southern Mindanao region, the project plans to build a cross-sea bridge across the Bakiputan Strait, connecting Davao City, the country's third largest city, with the island garden city of Samar.The 3.86km-long bridge, with a two-way four-lane design, will significantly shorten the travel time between the two places.Mark Vera, Minister of Public Works and Highways of the Philippines, said that after the completion of the project, it will effectively promote people-to-people exchanges between the two places. It is estimated that 25,000 people will travel between the two places every day, which will further exploit the local economic resources and tourism potential and promote the development of people's livelihood.
In the first 11 months of 2020, China's non-financial direct investment in the Philippines increased by 263% year on year, and a number of large-scale investment projects are stepping up.Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said that in the face of the impact of the epidemic, China and the Philippines have actively shared experience in resuming work and production, continued to promote personnel and goods exchanges, and pragmatic cooperation has shown new highlights.According to a recent article in the Manila Standard, the joint construction of the "One Belt And One Road" has helped the Philippines improve infrastructure conditions such as railways, water conservancy and Bridges, and the Philippines-China comprehensive strategic cooperative relations have been further deepened.