ADB authorized a $4.3 billion loan for South Commuter Railway
9 June 2022
When it is finished, the South Commuter Railway will facilitate rapid public transportation for commuters, lessen the impact of traffic congestion, and help the Philippines move closer to achieving their goal of mitigating the effects of climate change by lowering their emissions of greenhouse gases.
The Philippine government has been granted a loan from the Asian Development Bank in the amount of $4.3 billion (P227.5 billion), which will be used to help fund the construction of the South Commuter Railway project.
This is the multilateral lender’s largest infrastructure funding in the Asia-Pacific region to date, and it will be used to construct roughly 55 kilometers of modern suburban railway line between Metro Manila and the city of Calamba, which is located south of the capital.
It is anticipated that the North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) network, of which this project is a component, will result in the creation of more than 35,500 construction jobs and more than 3,200 permanent jobs over the entirety of its operation.
According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the South Commuter Railway Project would get funding through a multi-tranche financing facility, with the first tranche becoming available in this year. The initial infusion of capital will take the form of a 1.75 billion regular loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), with the interest rate being determined on a yearly basis. The loan has a repayment term of 28 years, and there is a grace period of 9 years.
It is anticipated that the second and third tranches will be distributed in the years 2024 and 2026, respectively.
According to Ahmed Saeed, Vice President of the Asian Development Bank for East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific, “The South Commuter Railway Project will provide commuters with economical, safe, dependable, and rapid public transit.”
The Asian Development Bank will be responsible for providing funding for the construction of the railway viaduct, stations, bridges, and tunnels on the South Commuter Railway. The Japan International Cooperation Agency is responsible for providing funding for both the rolling stock and the railway systems.
