Spanish firm still keen on rail projects

Visiting Spanish Deputy Foreign Minister Ramon Gil-Casares said yesterday that Construcciones y Auxillar de Ferrocariles (CAF), Spain’s biggest railway systems builder, is still interested in participating in the North and South Luzon railway projects of the government.

Gil-Casares said CAF remains interested in the North and South Luzon railway projects even though its exclusive contract to build the North Luzon Railway system lapsed last year.

"CAF is still interested in building and managing the North Luzon railway or providing supplies for either the North or South Luzon railway projects," Gil-Casares said.

CAF manufactures rolling stock and supplies the subway systems of Washington, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Barcelona and Madrid as well as the commuter trains of Portugal, Brazil, Hungary and Finland.

CAF had won the contract to build the North Luzon railway system during the Ramos administration.

The North Luzon railway system would connect Clark Air Base in Pampanga to the Fort Bonifacio Global City.

The project, however, failed to take off due to several reasons including funding, right-of-way problems and a change in government’s plan to develop Clark into the country’s premier international airport and the delay in the development of the Fort Bonifacio Global City.

The Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) intends to go through with the North Luzon railway project, but is scaling down the original plan, as the projected cost of the railway project has already risen to $2.5 billion. – Marianne Go