JICA has signed JPY377 billion ($2.86 billion) loan agreements with the Government of the Philippines to finance two commuter railway projects in the country. 

Of the total amount, JPY107 billion ($814 million) will go toward North-South commuter railway project (Malolos-Tutuban) while the JPY270 billion ($2.053 billion) toward North-South commuter railway extension project. The loans have 40 years repayment period and 12 and ten years grace period, respectively. 

The objective of the North-South commuter railway extension project is to strengthen the transportation network and alleviate serious traffic congestion in the Greater Capital Region. It will do so by extending the North-South Commuter Railway from Malolos to Clark International Airport and from Solis to Calamba, thereby contributing to the expansion of Metro Manila’s economic sphere and to the improvement of the investment environment, as well as mitigating air pollution and climate change.