THE feasibility study on the ambitious railway system that would connect key areas of the island such as Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Zamboanga, Butuan, Surigao, General Santos, and Davao is now being finalized, the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) said.
Romero Montenegro, Minda director for investment promotion and public affairs, said their consultants were finalizing the feasibility study on the 1,500-kilometer Mindanao Railway System that would cost some US$9 billion.
Montenegro said some adjustments have been made to the railway system plan, specifically on the length of every phase of development. The railway is planned to have five phases.
He said the Department of Transportation suggested to create a Mindanao Railway Corp., a body that would take the role as a coordinating body for the railway system.
He said they were also finalizing the specifications of this project, particularly on the mechanism that would be followed by interested bidders for the public-private partnership (PPP).
Montenegro said they were also scouting for areas where the route of the railway would be set up.
He said some Japanese and Chinese investors have already expressed the willingness to bid.
The Minda would undertake a workshop next month to complete the list of the possible projects that will be funded by the Japanese government through its Japanese International Coordinating Agency (Jica).
Davao City Planning and Development Office (DCPO) head Ivan Cortez said a study by a group of Chinese investors on a monorail project has yet to take off by March this year.
If it pushes through, he said, it would help in decongesting vehicular traffic. (antonio colina IV of mindanews)
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