MANILA, Philippines — The Mindanao Railway System (MRS) project is not yet dead, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon III said, clarifying that the Philippine government is actively looking for foreign donors to fund it.
Dizon gave the assurance to Sen. Bato Dela Rosa when he faced the Commission on Appointments on Tuesday.
With a project cost of P81.6 billion, the MRS phase 1 has a length of 100.2 kilometers consisting of eight stations. It will concretize the master rail plan of connecting the entire island of Mindanao.
Dela Rosa asked Dizon whether the MRS, one of the major projects of the Duterte administration, “is already dead.”
“It’s not actually dead because its only problem is funding. It was supposed to be funded by China. [But] they withdrew,” Dizon said in Filipino and English.
“We need to look for new [funding] partners. We’re talking with our different trilateral partners, wealthy countries, multilateral partners like the ADB (Asian Development Bank),” he said.
“We will try our best to look for funds for the Mindanao Railway,” Dizon added.
Once operational, the rail line is expected to serve 122,000 passengers daily and reduce travel time from Tagum City to Digos City to an hour from three hours.
Dela Rosa also asked Dizon for updates on the airport projects in North Cotabato and Central Mindanao.
Dizon informed Dela Rosa that the DOTr was granted funds for the airport construction in 2025 and additional funds for 2026.
He said the department is waiting for a memorandum of agreement with the provincial government for the implementation of the airport project starting with the construction of the runway.
