Solon files bill creating ‘Mindanao Railways’

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=909812
• Tuesday, August 2, 2016

(PNA), PGL/CD/MARK FRANCISCO

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Aug. 2 (PNA) -- Senator Edgardo Angara has filed a proposed Senate Bill that would create a corporate railway system in Mindanao designed to perk up economic development in the Southern Philippine island.

In a press statement sent to the local media Tuesday, Angara said that Senate Bill 137 calls for the creation of a state-owned Mindanao Railways Corporation (MindaRail), tasked to lay the groundwork in building a railway in Mindanao.

In his explanatory note, Angara said that locomotives would propel Mindanao’s progress.

The railway “is also a driver for peace because as communities become interconnected, economies are linked, growth spreads and travel brings cultural exchanges,” he said.

Under the proposal, the MindaRail would have an authorized capital stock of Php1 billion, with an 11-person board, all appointed by the President. It will have its offices in Davao City.

Angara said that the train service would be capable of ferrying people and cargoes for the island’s agriculture product, which is worth Php500 billion a year.

The operation of MindaRail would link the island’s urban centers and growth corridors, which were 500 miles apart from each other, such as the cities of Davao, General Santos, Butuan, Cagayan De Oro, Cotabato and Malaybalay.

At its peak, the Philippine railway system would stretch 1,140 kilometers in the islands of Luzon, Panay and Cebu, Angara said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&nid=2&rid=909744 CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Aug. 2 (PNA) -- A transport depot worth PHP34.4 million, which will serve thousands of commuters daily at the Clark Freeport and nearby areas, is now being constructed by the Clark Development Corporation(CDC) at the back of the SM City Clark in Angeles City.

Engineer Teresito Tiotuyco, CDC assistant vice president for Technical Services, said the depot, where passenger jeepneys, taxis, and buses will be stationed, will provide an efficient public transport facility and passenger terminal and help ease growing traffic at the Clark Main Gate area.

He said the project would be directly linked to the soon-to-be-completed Clark-Mabalacat-Angeles Road (CMAR).

The project, which is expected to be completed before the end of the year, has 342 parking slots for jeepneys and taxis, 18 slots for buses, and some kiosk-type spaces which would also be leased out for commercial ventures.

Tiotuyco said the depot has a total land area of more than 4,100 square meters and could be vertically expanded should the volume of public transport increase in the future.

"This project, along with other road improvements in Clark, would be vital in keeping order and traffic flow in and around Clark. A little inconvenience may be experienced by some during construction for which we apologize but the end result would be beneficial to the majority,” Tiotuyco said.

In order to minimize traffic in and around the Freeport, the CDC is also pursuing various road projects, including the construction of a vital bridge along the Php176-million CMAR, which was delayed for few weeks, and is now being finalized in order to open the road to vehicular traffic by October this year.

The six-kilometer, double lane road project was constructed as part of CDC’s commitment to help decongest traffic in the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat. It connects the existing terminal in Mabalacat Gate area to the transport depot at the SM area.

The CDC will also open a new side gate from the MA Roxas Highway leading to the Clarkview area along Don Juico St. in Angeles City. The new gate is seen to lessen vehicular traffic at the Main and Friendship Gates of this Freeport.

The CDC has also received requests to help fund the construction and improvement of some peripheral roads in Barangay Malabanias, Angeles City that could help in the flow of traffic in communities near Clark.

The state-run agency is also looking for ways to help ease traffic at a busy intersection along MacArthur Highway that connects the Mabalacat Gate to the Sta. Ines entry and exit points of the NLEX.

All the road improvement projects are also being implemented to help prepare Clark in hosting some activities when Philippines host the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2017. (PNA) BNB/ZST/MDDR/PS