Saturday, December 9, 2017

Govt inks P54-B deal to relocate settlers affected by PNR South project

THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine National Railways (PNR), along with government housing agencies, have signed a memorandum of agreement for a P54-billion relocation project for informal settler families (ISFs) who will be affected by the North-South Railway Project (NSRP).

Around 100,000 ISFs will be relocated batch by batch and the relocation will be conducted by the National Housing Authority, according to Assistant Secretary for Rails Timothy John Batan.

The agencies involved in the project are the Presidential Commission on Urban Poor, National Housing Authority (NHA), Social Housing Finance Corporation, and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC).

Under the MOA, the said government agencies agreed to perform resettlement activities and social preparation to provide the ISFs with affordable housing programs.

The NSRP, also known as the PNR South Long Haul, is a 653-kilometer railway project that will run from Manila to Batangas, Laguna, Bicol and Sorsogon. It is expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2022.

“It is projected to carry up to 300,000 passengers on opening day alone,” Batan said.

Batan said travel time between Manila and Los Baños would be cut from two-and-a-half hours currently to only 45 minutes, and travel time between Manila and Bicol will be cut to six hours from the usual 12 hours.

“We will start construction by 2019 as soon as the right-of-way ]is cleared,” Batan said.

The NSRP Commuter Line segment, which spans 72 kilometers with 23 stations, will start from Solis-Hermosa in Manila to Los Baños. The Long Haul segment will start from Los Baños and will run through Batangas, Quezon, Camarines Sur, and Albay to Sorsogon.

The Commuter Line will be funded by official development assistance from Japan while the Long Haul segment will be funded by ODA from China. REICELENE JOY N. IGNACIO

No comments:

Post a Comment