China’s CRDC-WACC gets P14.4-B contract for PNR Bicol project

The Duterte administration has awarded a consortium of two Chinese companies with the project management consultancy contract for the Philippine National Railways South Long-Haul or PNR Bicol.

“The winning bidder is China Railway Design Corp. (CRDC) and Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co. (WACC). The amount is P14.38 billion,” Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Wednesday.

In a separate statement, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said the contract was signed on Saturday, November 17, at the Chinese Embassy in Makati City.

Signatories to the contract are Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan for the DOTr and CRDC chairman of the board Liu Weiqun for the CRDC-WACC consortium

The contract was among the agreements exchanged between the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit on Tuesday, November 20.

As with other projects financed with official development assistance (ODA), a project management consultant was engaged for the technical and commercial aspects for the project.

“Being a China ODA-financed contract, the selection of the project management consultant was based on a list of qualified and experienced bidders, as endorsed by the Chinese government,” the DOTr said.

Apart from the technical aspects of the 639-kilometer PNR Bicol project, the CRDC-WACC consortium will prepare the bidding design and bidding documents, and provide bidding assistance, as well as supervise the construction and the liability period for defects.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board has approved the financing of the PNR Bicol project through ODA from the China.

The PNR Bicol Project is one of the flagship projects of the Duterte Administration under the “Build, Build, Build” program.

Once complete, PNR Bicol will connect Metro Manila, Region IV-A (Calabarzon), and Region V (Bicol), reducing travel time from Manila to Legazpi City from 13 hours to under six hours.

“I am very happy with our partnership with the Chinese Consortium, as this is our first contract with China for our railways sector. I am hoping that we continue this arrangement for more projects, including our Clark to Subic Railway project that I am hoping will be signed before the end of the year,” Tugade said during the signing ceremony. —VDS, GMA News