The Philippines’ Department of Transportation (DOTr) has awarded the last three civil contracts for the South Commuter Railway Project (SCRP), the southern leg of the 147-km North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) system.

These include contract packages (CP) S-01, S-03A and S-03C, with a total cost of more than PHP52 billion. They feature a combined length of 14.9 km of elevated and ground-level rail tracks, revealed DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista. There will be six stations: Blumentritt in Manila, Buendia in Makati, EDSA, Senate in Pasay City, Bicutan in Taguig, and Sucat in Parañaque.

The Blumentritt station will have an elevated pedestrian connection with LRT-1, while the EDSA station will also have an elevated pedestrian connection to MRT-3 Magallanes station, explained Mr Bautista. Meanwhile, the Senate station will be near the Senate subway station, and the Bicutan station will share the same platform with the Bicutan subway station.

“With the signing of these three contract packages that cover a total of around 14.9 km of at-grade and railway viaduct structures, we will be a step closer to our goal of serving around 800,000 commuters daily by 2029,” said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr, speaking during the contract signing ceremony held last Thursday (13 July).

The CP S-01 and CP S-03C, awarded to Indonesia’s PT Adhi Karya (Persero) Tbk and PT PP (Persero) Tbk joint venture, consist of a 1.2-km elevated railway structure and the Blumentritt station (CP S-01) as well as a 5.8-km elevated railway structure with the Bicutan and Sucat stations (CP S-03C). [Scroll down to watch the video of the signing ceremony.]

The CP S-03A will be built by the Leighton Contractors (Asia) Ltd and First Balfour Inc joint venture. Leighton Asia is headquartered in Hong Kong, a part of Australia’s CIMIC Group, whereas First Balfour is based in the Philippines.

In a separate press release, Leighton Asia shared the scope of work for the CP S-03A, which comprises building and civil engineering for approximately 7.9 km of at-grade and viaduct railway track structure, incorporating an elevated station at Buendia and at-grade stations at EDSA and Senate; plus the relevant mechanical, electrical, facade and other ancillary works.

According to Leighton Asia, the CP S-03A will directly connect to the CP S-03B of the SCRP, which was earlier awarded to the company together with its joint venture partner First Balfour.

“We are thrilled to extend our partnership with our valued client and partner at SCRP. Leighton Asia has extensive experience in rail, leveraging both our international expertise and local knowledge in the Philippines, where we have operated for more than two decades. We are honoured by the award of these packages and the recognition of our teams’ ability to safely deliver the works,” said Brad Davey, managing director of Leighton Asia.

Juan Santamaria, executive chairman of CIMIC Group, added, “We are pleased to further contribute our railway capability and support the government’s strategic plans for the transport network around Manila, following our selection earlier this year to deliver another section of the railway. This important project will play a key role in the economic and urban growth of the Greater Capital Region.”

*All images are screenshots of the contract signing ceremony video by Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) of the Philippines. The video can be viewed below.