Manila, Philippines – Naniniwala si Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel na makatutulong ang Japan upang maituloy ang Mindanao Railways Project (MRP) na naunsyaming mapondohan matapos itigil ng Pilipinas ang pakikipagnegosasyon sa China.
“Our sense is, Japan is our best recourse, considering that JICA is already helping our Department of Transportation in modeling our 30-year railways masterplan for Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and the Calabarzon,” ani Pimentel.
Ito ang sinabi ng mambabatas kaugnay ng pagdalaw sa bansa ni Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sa Pilipinas simula ngayong araw hanggang bukas kung saan nakatakda itong magsalita sa gaganaping special session ng Kongreso sa Batasan.
“JICA is already providing us the extremely low-interest official development assistance (ODA) loans for the Metro Manila Subway and other rail projects in Luzon. We might as well ask them to double down and grant us the concessional loan for the MRP. We absolutely need the MRP to accelerate the transfer of people and goods, and drive Mindanao’s economic and social development.”
Umaasa si Pimentel na kung maipatutupad ang MRP ay lilikha ito ng libu-libong trabaho at negosyo na siguradong makatutulong sa mahihirap na pamilya.
Aniya, ang Phase 1 ng MRP ay tinatayang aabot sa P83 bilyon ang gugol para sa konstruksyon ng may 100-kilometer train line na magkakabit sa Tagum City, sa Davao del Norte, Digos City, sa Davao del Sur.
“The train line will cut travel time between Tagum and Digos from the usual three hours to just an hour. Phase I will accommodate up to 122,000 commuters every day on its first year of operation. Six commuter trains (with five cars each) will be deployed every hour and run through eight stations,” sinabi pa ni Pimentel.
Binigyang diin pa ng kongresista na ang kabuuan ng MRP ay aabot sa 1,544-kilometer railway dahil ito ay aabot din hanggang sa mga siudad ng General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Cotabato, Zamboanga, Butuan, Surigao, at Malaybalay. Meliza Maluntag
