ALL over the country today, we see roads and elevated highways, bridges, airports and seaports in various stages of construction. This is the “Build, Build, Build” program for which the Duterte administration is likely to be best known. We specially welcome the projects for Mindanao, particularly the Mindanao Railway Project which will connect the major cities of the island with 1,550 kilometers of rails, thus opening so many remote areas to development while promoting unity in a region of so many ethnic groups that have known so much rivalry and discord in the past.
The Mindanao Railway, however, has been set back by changes in its basic plan. Transportation Secretary Arturo Tugade said early this month that he wants double-tracks instead of single, standard tracks instead of narrow, and electric trains instead of diesel. This is the modern train project now underway in Central Luzon, he said. Mindanao should have the same.
This means additional cost. And a new loan agreement must be made and signed with China. With the delay, only the first segment can be completed under the Duterte administration. This is the 102-kilometer segment from Tagum City in Davao del Norte to Davao City to Digos City in Davao del Sur.
Mindanao Development Authority (MDA) Chairman Emmanuel Piñol who has just assumed his new office said Monday he will be meeting with Secretary Tugade on how to speed up the project. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has approved changes in the plan and the increase in the project’s estimated cost from P36 billion to P82.9 billion.
Chairman Piñol emphasized the great impact the railway project will have on the development of the country’s vast southern region. Just as rails opened up the American West to the young United States, he said, the Mindanao Railway will lead to the development of vast farmlands and boost trade and other economic activity among the various regions of Mindanao.
Piñol said he would revive a move to make his Mindanao Development Authority the main implementing authority. That will have to be thoroughly studied and discussed, as the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Transportation have done exceedingly well in the many ongoing public works projects all over the country.
The important thing is that the basic changes in the Mindanao project and the increase in funding have been approved. From Digos, the rails will continue clockwise to Kabacan, Cotabato City, Iligan City, Laguindigan, Cagayan de Oro City, Butuan City, back to Tagum. There will be spur lines to Surigao in the northeast, General Santos in the south, Zamboanga City in the southwest, and Dipolog in the northwest.
We look forward to the speedy construction of this first Tagum-Davao-Digos segment, starting this last quarter of 2019, and expect whoever leads the next administration in 2022 to carry on the rest of the region-wide project.
