Revival of Cagayan-Manila railway eyed

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — Foreign investors have expressed interest in reviving a 100 year-old plan to build a railway system linking Region II to Metro Manila to further boost the country’s economy via Cagayan. The proposed railway will be complemented by increased trade between China and member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) under the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), said Jack Enrile, senior consultant of the state-run Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA). “We are now at the forefront of this window of opportunity," he said, noting that Cagayan is at the northernmost point of the country and is nearest to China. The project will develop isolated areas and sustain progress in communities along its trail lines and increase trade between the two countries, he said. Enrile, who is running for congressman this May, said Chinese investors had expressed interest to build the fast-moving railway system, which may even extend up to the Bicol region. “We can easily tap into the market of three billion Chinese consumers and other ASEAN economies because of our geographical advantage," Enrile said. ASEAN groups the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. The ASEAN-China trade volume is expected to reach $ 4.5 trillion, the third biggest after the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement. CEZA Deputy Administrator Jose Aldeguer told GMANews.TV the project, which would be very expensive, was still on the drawing board. “I imagine billions in dollars would have been spent after the railway system is completed but I hope this will push through because our country is in dire need of a railway to propel the economy," he said. A Cagayan Valley Railways Authority (CVRA) has been proposed to operate the 467-kilometer Cagayan Valley-Metro Manila mainline in addition to the so-called Sierra Madre Line linking Cagayan with Ilocos and the Kalinga-Tabuk and Ifugao-Banaue lines. The proposed railway will not only bypass the costly route of bringing Northern Luzon trade through Manila and then the world. Trade can pass vice-versa through Cagayan, which brings five of the country’s leading trade partners — Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States — much closer to the Philippines. The railroad’s origin is projected to be at CEZA, whose conceptual master plan also provides for a railroad with a 6.5-km right of way linking the Port Irene seaport and air cargo terminal in Sta. Ana, Cagayan. — NPA, GMANews.TV