September 12, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Numerous Japan’s greatest infrastructure traders have participated out there sounding for the P229-billion deal to handle the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), exhibiting their curiosity in bidding for the undertaking.
On the closing leg of the market sounding for the NSCR, the Division of Transportation (DOTr) was in a position to collect Japanese rail builders and operators in a single room to current the operations and upkeep of the NSCR.
Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan mentioned Japanese multinationals Alstom Japan, Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi Corp., Sumitomo Corp. and Tokyo Metro Co. had been current within the occasion.
These traders are now not new to rail growth and operations within the Philippines. Alstom, as an example, delivered the engineering and signaling works for the primary part of the Mild Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension Challenge.
Mitsubishi was issued the P110.4-billion contract to construct the signaling, telecommunication and trackwork methods for the NSCR. Other than this, Mitsubishi will produce the airport trains that may run between the Clark Worldwide Airport and Alabang, with restricted stops.
Sumitomo, for its half, was accountable for rehabilitating the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, a undertaking that improved the using expertise by elevating practice speeds and trimming wait instances.
In the meantime, Tokyo Metro operates 9 strains of subways within the Japanese capital, ferrying virtually seven million individuals day by day throughout 195 kilometers of distance and 179 stations.
“We’re very glad to see the attendance on this fourth leg of our (operations and upkeep) roadshow, because it solely goes to point out that we’re on the fitting path by way of structuring and in creating this concession,” Batan mentioned.
Based mostly on the DOTr’s timeline, the bidding paperwork for the concession will probably be launched by late September or early October. Batan mentioned bidding papers would mirror suggestions gathered from the 4 legs of market sounding.
The DOTr held market sounding for the NSCR in Singapore, Paris and Manila previous to the newest one in Tokyo. The aim of the market sounding is to pitch the undertaking to potential operators, as properly receive insights on abroad railways.
Whoever lands the undertaking will function and keep NSCR’s trains, stations and depot, together with its interoperations with different railways for a interval of 15 years.
The NSCR, costing P873.6 billion, runs for 147 kilometers throughout 35 stations in Central Luzon, Metro Manila and Southern Luzon.