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The United States has approved a $3.8-million loan for the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas Railway project pre-feasibility study
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The amount is higher than the $2.5 million initially approved by the US Trade and Development Agency
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The Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Investment and Economic Affairs will soon meet with officials of the Department of Transportation and the US Embassy to discuss the agreement signing
The United States has approved a $3.8-million loan for the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas (SCMB) Railway project pre-feasibility study, according to the Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA).
The amount is higher than the $2.5 million initially approved by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). The increase follows the selection and negotiation process for the US consultant, OSAPIEA said in a statement.
OSAPIEA is set to meet soon with officials of the Department of Transportation and the US Embassy to discuss the signing of the agreement for the project.
In a Malacañang press briefing on May 5, Special Assistant to the President on Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go said they have received the written document on the loan from the USTDA, a project under the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC), on April 28.
He noted that while many US-assisted foreign projects have been suspended following US President Donald Trump’s directive, the LEC is still pushing through.
“And as you know, this Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas rail will be very important to industry and trade (as) this will link the most important ports in our country – the Subic Port, the Manila Port and the Batangas Port – together, comprising over 80% of all volume of port traffic in our country,” Go added.
The SCMB railway is as a flagship project under the LEC, which aims to support connectivity between Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas in the Philippines.
The Philippines, US, and Japan in April 2024 announced they intend to develop the LEC as the latest economic corridor of the Group of Seven (G7) Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI). Through the PGI, the G7—an intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the US—aims to mobilize up to $600 billion by 2027 in order to narrow the infrastructure investment gap in partner countries.
The 250-kilometer SCMB railway project is an extension of the Subic-Clark Railway Project, a 71km line intended to connect the Port of Subic Bay and Clark International Airport in Pampanga. That project has stalled since the Philippine government withdrew from loan negotiations with China.
Last year, then Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said project design for the railway is “on track for completion by 2026, with construction set to commence in 2027.”
The government is also working with Swedfund—Sweden’s development finance institution—on a separate grant of $1.2 million to complete the project.
