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PH, China ink $940-million Subic-Clark railway contract

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/01/16/map-train.jpg"/><figcaption>The railway would be situated in South and Central Luzon, connecting Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Clark International Airport. Photo from the Chinese Embassy in Manila. </figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — The Philippines and China on Saturday signed the Subic-Clark railway project’s commercial contract worth $940 million, considered one of the “highest-funded” deals between the two nations, according to China’s envoy to the country. </p><p>In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AmbHuangXilian/posts/118154730161040?__cft__[0]=AZXleL9bf8maO71ECVAM6a2N2dBXMWRvspaUPGGLCblm9WZcjLeOGmJDvL23IPtyCLSBA9Jxt_Y5cKiLLkq31Cft5t8GntRsfKXVCWyGeUr2Qfo1jLuMG-YFX8Mbvfj2HBFP6pLjnkrrAjjRAAaDsUXP&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R">statement</a>, Ambassador Huang Xilian estimated that the construction of the 71-kilometer, single-track railway would take 3 and a half years.</p><p>“This is so far the highest-funded G2G (government to government) project between the two countries valued at [approximately] $940 million and is the flagship project under the administration&#x27;s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program,” the statement read. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/07/26/19/china-funded-infra-projects-can-move-faster-transport-chief">China-funded infra projects can move faster: transport chief</a></li></ul><p>The railway, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said, would specifically connect Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Clark International Airport. </p><p>The Subic-Clark railway will also link the Department of Transportation&#x27;s (DOTr) North Railway Project. </p><p>Transportation Sec. Arthur Tugade in 2018 said that the contractors China usually nominates for the projects it would fund were already involved in Chinese projects.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/31/18/subic-clark-rail-awaits-contractor-nominees-from-beijing">Subic-Clark rail awaits contractor nominees from Beijing</a></li></ul><p>&quot;May proseso ho iyan kapag Chinese funded. Ang gusto nila mga involve sa proyekto na mga Chinese,&quot; Tugade had told reporters. </p><p>(There is a process if it is Chinese funded. They usually want the help of those already involved in Chinese projects.)</p><div><strong> RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E5L2iiPMhFs?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>The DOTr has been facilitating the construction of at least 3 China-funded railway projects under the Build, Build, Build — the PNR South Railway project, the Subic-Clark Railway project, and the Mindanao Railway project.</p><p>By 2022, the total project debt to China will be around 4.5 percent of the country’s total debt, while Japan&#x27;s share will be “double” that amount, Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Lambino earlier said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/14/19/list-100-projects-under-revised-build-build-build">LIST: 100 projects under revised &#x27;Build, Build, Build&#x27;</a></li></ul><div><strong>— With a report from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News</strong></div>

<p>In a statement, Ambassador Huang Xilian estimated that the construction of the 71-kilometer, single-track railway would take 3 and a half years.<br /> </p>

In a statement, Ambassador Huang Xilian estimated that the construction of the 71-kilometer, single-track railway would take 3 and a half years.