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Electrified system eyed for Caloocan-Clark railway

By Ding Cervantes
Thursday, August 14, 2008 [ philstar.com ]

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga – The North Railways Corp. (Northrail) has proposed that the delayed Caloocan-to-Clark railway project be upgraded to an “electrified system” instead of being run by diesel amid the high cost of fuel.

This, even as Northrail president and chief executive officer Edgardo Pamintuan told The STAR yesterday that railway Chinese contractor China National Machinery and Equipment Corp. Group (CNMEG) and his firm have given themselves up to Aug. 29 to settle the issue on the $229-million additional cost of the railway.

Pamintuan said he and Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila met recently with Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming and CNMEG officials in Beijing and tackled difficulties on the railway project which was virtually abandoned by CNMEG last February.

During the meeting, Pamintuan said he told the Chinese officials that “your claim for price adjustments due to inflation and the appreciation of the peso and the dollar is a difficult matter” and that “we find no contractual basis for this.”

The $299-million cost being demanded by CNMEG consist of $97.12-million inflation adjustment, $106.8-million devaluation cost, “other delay costs” worth $32 million, and “work variations” costing $88.60 million, among other costs.

While Northrail and CNMEG have yet to settle this issue, Pamintuan said he asked the Chinese contractor during the Beijing meeting to study “the feasibility of upgrading to an electrified system.”

In his message during the meeting, Pamintuan noted “a very serious error in the fuel consumption of the diesel machine units (DMUs) which would greatly increase Northrail’s operating costs considering rising fuel prices worldwide.”

This, even as Pamintuan also asked both the Philippine and Chinese parties in the railway project “to stop fingerpointing,” noting that “both have shortcomings in the implementation of the project.”

He said regardless of the outcome of the continuing dialogue, Northrail is set to clear the railway path from Caloocan to Clark by the end of October.

But Pamintuan urged CNMEG to submit immediately the preliminary engineering design for the project, “together with the implementation schedule and bill of quantities.”

“These documents will serve as basis for us to discuss and agree on price adjustments,” he said.

Pamintuan also cited the CNMEG’s “difficulties in so far as adopting minimum Philippine (engineering) standards” for the railway.

“We will require that our consultant assign a project manager who is familiar not only with Philippine standards but Chinese standards as well,” he said.

Pamintuan said the Chinese are “100 percent” interested in pursuing the railway project, but he added that with the project cost being tackled, the Philippine side is about “80 percent” confident the project would be pursued with the Chinese.

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