Jica: Updated Mega Manila transport roadmap out in November

An updated transport roadmap aimed at easing traffic in Metro Manila and surrounding areas will be finished by the Japanese and Philippine governments in November, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) said Monday.

Also, Japanese financial giant Nomura said in a Sept. 29 note to clients that the Philippine government announced in Tokyo last week that it would soon roll out big-ticket infrastructure projects, including the development of Clark International Airport as the second major airport, as well as the construction of a 655-kilometer spine expressway on Luzon Island.

In a statement, Jica said the follow-up to the Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and its Surrounding Areas approved by the Philippine government in 2014 would be ready next month.

Jica is currently jointly working on the updated roadmap with the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

“It’s timely to identify new strategies and solutions to present traffic situation in Metro Manila and surrounding areas as the administration aggressively pushes for transport infrastructure development under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ agenda,” Jica senior representative Tetsuya Yamada said.

“Together with other government agencies and local government units, the follow-up study aims to come up with urban transport strategies addressing traffic demand in the coming years, improve mobility, identify land use management, and identify reforms in the transport sector,” Yamada added. “With the follow-up study, we hope to contribute to helping spread economic opportunities in areas outside Metro Manila, attract more investments, and promote a better quality of life for all.”

Separately, Nomura said that during their Tokyo roadshow, “there was also a very strong sense of priority and urgency focused on the infrastructure sector, not just in the lining up of feasible projects but also in their implementation, with greater transparency and higher accountability” among the Duterte administration’s economic managers.

In line with the ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program aimed at ushering in a “golden age of infrastructure,” economic managers said the Ninoy Aquino International Airport would be improved and Clark International Airport would be developed as the second major airport, which would be fully operational by 2020, Nomura said.

Also, “the recently launched shipping route between Davao City and Bitung (Indonesia) which cut cargo arrival time from 3-5 weeks to 2-3 days will be replicated across the country,” Nomura added.

“A large-scale road modernization program is under way to improve connectivity for tourism, agriculture and industrial sectors, as well as a new 655-kilometer Luzon spine expressway, and various tunnelling projects, bridges and flood control projects” under “Build, Build, Build,” according to Nomura.

Citing presentations of economic managers, Nomura also said the planned 9,500-hectare Clark Green City, which is 80 kilometers north of Manila, would become “the next frontier of property development (after the Bonifacio Global City).”

It will have links to major public infrastructure projects, including a Manila-Clark railway, set to be completed by 2021. It will also have government offices to help decongest Metro Manila.

/atm