-
The Department of Transportation is looking for consultants to conduct feasibility studies for the Panay and Samar-Leyte Railway projects
-
DOTr is allocating P78.604 million of its budget for the studies
-
The Panay Railway System project will connect the cities of Iloilo and Roxas
-
The Samar-Leyte Railway Line will link the North-South Railway Project through Matnog in Sorsogon and the Mindanao Railway Project through Surigao City in Surigao Del Norte
-
The deadline of submission and opening of eligibility documents has been moved to May 31 from May 20
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is looking for consultants to conduct feasibility studies for its Panay and Samar-Leyte Railway projects.
In two requests for expression of interest posted on May 10, DOTr said it intends to allocate P78.604 million of its budget for the feasibility study contract for the Panay Railway System, and another P78.604 million for the Samar-Leyte Railway.
Both contracts should be completed within 365 calendar days from the issuance of the notice to proceed.
The deadline for submission and opening of eligibility documents has been moved to May 31 from May 20 previously to provide interested parties more time to prepare their proposals
The Panay Railway System project is part of the administration’s infrastructure flagship projects and is based on the revival of the former Panay Railway Inc., which was composed of a 117-kilometer railway line and had 19 permanent and 10 flag stations.
RELATED READ: Marcos orders streamlining of permits for 185 infra flagship projects
This new project will connect the cities of Iloilo and Roxas and aim to improve the efficiency of transport for passengers and cargo using a high-speed railway system.
According to the project’s background, there is currently no operational rail transport in Western Visayas.
The movement of goods and people between the cities of Iloilo and Roxas was mainly through trucks, buses, jeepneys, tricycles, and private vehicles.
Connectivity between production areas, markets, and import and export locations, however, is still limited.
Boosting the economy using only road-based transportation within the city will not be as efficient as having a railway system or rail freight transportation, DOTr said.
The creation of the Panay Railway System will improve the movement of people and goods; it will also reduce travel time and cost, DOTr added.
The Samar-Leyte Railway Line, meanwhile, is one of the connectivity projects in the Visayas Spatial Development Framework 2015-2045, which was formulated to provide a long-term spatial framework that will harmonize the regional spatial priorities and distinct roles of each region in the Visayas.
The railway line is envisioned to connect the North-South Railway Project through Matnog in Sorsogon and the Mindanao Railway Project through Surigao City in Surigao Del Norte.
Similar to Western Visayas, connectivity between production areas and markets in Eastern Visayas is still limited. The movement of goods over land is limited to road-based transportation options while long-, medium-, and short-distance shipping by land is done by trucks, which adds to road traffic congestion and to logistics cost. The roads leading to ports and airports often experience congestion and deteriorate faster due to heavy truck loads.
Therefore, DOTr said a regional railway system must be established, linking strategic infrastructure such as the Port of Allen in Northern Samar to the ports of Liloan and San Ricardo in Southern Leyte.
Last year, the DoTr said it obtained about P600 million in funding for four feasibility studies on four railway projects — the Panay railway, the Philippine National Railways North Long Haul line, the North Mindanao Railway, and the San Mateo Railway.
