The Asian Development Bank has approved US$1.45 billion as the second and final tranche of its multitranche financing facility for the Malolos-Clark Railway Project ( MCRP ) in the Philippines.

The MCRP is a 53.1-kilometre segment of the 163-kilometre North-South Commuter Railway ( NSCR ). The ADB is also financing the southern leg of the NSCR system, the South Commuter Railway Project.

“The Malolos-Clark Railway Project is one of ADB’s biggest project financing in the entire Asia and the Pacific region,” says ADB Philippines country director Pavit Ramachandran.

“We are proud to partner with the government in making the vision of a world-class mass transportation system in the country a reality. This major transformative project will spur more investments, create jobs, and contribute to sustaining the country’s growth momentum.”

The MCRP features three types of commuter service – regular commuter trains, express trains with stops at stations with high passenger demand, and the country’s first airport express trains connecting to Clark International Airport.

The project will help lower the country’s greenhouse gas emissions with the shift to mass transit from private vehicles.

Aside from helping decongest Metro Manila, the MCRP will promote regional economic integration by creating linkages to the Central Luzon Corridor.

The first tranche of the financing facility, amounting to US$1.3 billion, was approved by ADB in 2019 and is now fully utilized.