THE Mindanao Railway Project feasibility study is expected to be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) this year, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said.

"We will update the FS (feasibility study). If there is a change in scope or in cost, we have to go back to NEDA," Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista told reporters on Monday.

"The timeline would be this year. We will commence immediately. It's an important project, we already promised," he added.

The construction for Phase 1, or the portion connecting Tagum City to Digos City through Davao City, was supposed to begin in the second quarter of 2022. However, since the government withdrew its funding application for Chinese loans due to a lack of progress, the construction of the project has been delayed.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Regino, the DoTr undersecretary for railways, mentioned that the funding could come from various channels, including the DoTr, official development assistance (ODA), or the private sector.

"In the Mindanao rail, we can go hybrid. ROW (right of way) will be coming from DoTr, then ODA will be for the electromechanical and the civil works from the private partner, so [it will be] hybrid," Regino explained.

"That will make the project more viable because the ridership of Mindanao rail is not as high as in MM (Metro Manila)," he added.

For his part, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said that there are many ways to get the MRP off the ground.

"One is through JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) or ODA, the other will be through PPP (public-private partnership). We have already the new PPP Code. We are just awaiting as well as the updated feasibility study of the project and then we can discuss the best way to procure the project," Recto said.

Bautista, however, said that they are not yet talking to JICA about financing the project.

"We will need to review the detailed engineering design and since this project has been delayed, we might need to again bring this to NEDA for updating," Bautista said.

Meanwhile, regarding the South Long Haul or the PNR Project, Regino clarified that they have not terminated negotiations with China.

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