The Public-Private Partnership Center Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) Committee granted P100,000,000 on Friday, February 17, for the feasibility study of the Northern Mindanao Railway (Cagayan de Oro) Project, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
In a letter to DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista last July 2022, Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez asked for the funding.
The alignment of the railways, including the Light Rail/Elevated Railway from Bugo to Iponan and from Paseo Rotonda to Macalaban Port via A Velez St to Pacana St to Puntod then Macabalan, the number of stations to be established, as well as other types of services required to guarantee the safety, dependability, and comfort of the future railway system, will be determined by the feasibility study.
Laguindingan and Villanueva Misamis Oriental are connected by the proposed Northern Mindanao Railway, a 54.8-kilometer section of the Mindanao Railway System (Phase 2) that crosses Cagayan de Oro.
It will link the urban districts of Cagayan de Oro up to Laguindingan Airport, according to DOTr Under Secretary for Planning and Project Development Leonel De Velez, and eventually join with the remainder of the Mindanao Railway System.
The project also complies with Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s order to “Build Better More” and the approved Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028, which emphasizes the significance of mass transit systems throughout the nation.
It should be recalled that Rodriguez met with Secretaries Bautista and Usec in August 2022. Cesar Chaves in which they discussed the two (2) key railway projects: the Northern Mindanao Railway Project and the CdeO Skyway/Light Rail System.
We really appreciate the DOTr, led by Secretary Jaime Bautista, and Usec Cesar Chaves, for supporting these projects. Cagayan de Oro needs to get ready for effective public transit as a highly urbanized city that will soon become a metropolis in order to reduce traffic and pollution, Rodriguez added.
“The construction of the railways in CdeO and Northern Mindanao has been long overdue. And I want to express my gratitude to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos for supporting the railway projects in Mindanao with his “Build Better More” initiative, he continued.
Source: Rufus B. Rodriguez
