News Update P6.97-billion Clark-MM railway eyed

ANGELES CITY - A $150-million (P6.97-billion) investment is being eyed for the construction of a state-of-the-art passenger terminal and high-speed train that will link the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark and Metro Manila.
Grand Central Terminal: Railroads, Engineering, and Architecture in New York City
The concept of a high-speed railway between DMIA in Clark, Pampanga and Metro Manila came from Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) big boss Manuel V. Pangilinan, said Vice Governor Joseller Guiao.

Guiao spilled the beans on the ambitious P6.97-billion project as he spoke before the recent meeting of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Pamcham).

The proposed terminal is estimated to accommodate some 3 million to 7 million passengers annually. It is also expected to be one that can service long-haul commercial airlines.

"The plan is to construct the new railway between the lanes of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx).

However, the proposal to construct it parallel to the railway was scrapped due to some technical problems," Guiao said.

The NLEx would be the obvious route of the planned railway, given that MPIC is behind Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. which manages the NLEx.

Guiao said the railways project is expected to be forged through Pangilinan's Landco Pacific Corporation (Landco).

"Metro Pacific Investments Corp. has already teamed up with the San Miguel Corporation to finance the multi-million dollar project inside our (DMIA) airport, although further details have not yet been released," said Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) President Victor Jose Luciano.

Earlier, Pacific Avia Group Inc., (PAGI), a private sector company also proposed a P3-billion Terminal 2 project inside the airport in 2009.

"MVP (Manny V. Pangilinan) is a Kapampangan himself that's probably the reason why he wants to help the province through investments," Guaio said.