DOTr pitches rail PPPs to investors in Singapore

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June 25, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) presented to foreign investors in Singapore some of the railway contracts they can participate in through public-private partnerships (PPPs).

In a market sounding activity led by acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez, the DOTr presented to private firms in Singapore the latest progress for railway projects in the Philippines.

Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said the Philippines currently has the shortest railway length per million population in Southeast Asia.

Batan said this means there is a need for public and private groups to work together in bridging the infrastructure gap. In Metro Manila, for instance, commuters suffer from long queues in public transport, as they overwhelm the number of available units.

“The massive gap we face is particularly magnified in rail infrastructure. This is not because the Philippines lacks the need for rail; the demand for mass transit in our congested capital of Metro Manila is overwhelming,” Batan said.

“The gap between where we are and where we need to be is not a matter of demand, but a matter of investment and delivery,” he added.

In turn, Batan pitched to Singaporean investors the opportunity of capturing the PPP for some of the country’s largest rail projects.

Last year, the DOTr issued the invitation to qualify and bid for the P229-billion concession to run the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), which is funded by Japan.

The NSCR, costing P873.6 billion, will span 147 kilometers between Clark International Airport and Calamba, Laguna. The railway, crossing three regions, will cut the travel time from point to point to only 2.5 hours, from four hours currently.

In its entirety, the NSCR is projected to serve as many as 800,000 commuters daily. The line will also feature the country’s maiden airport express, a limited service connecting Clark to Makati in under an hour and to Alabang in just 1.25 hours.

Also, the Metro Manila Subway Project, requiring P488.5 billion, will be turned over to a private investor for operations and maintenance, but the DOTr has yet to issue an invitation to bid.

The subway, running for 33 kilometers, is expected to slash travel time between Valenzuela City and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to just 41 minutes, from 1.5 hours right now.