Philippine President Attends Signing Ceremony To Express His Commitment to “Accelerate Railway Infrastructure for Economic Growth.”

Hyundai E&C said on Sept. 10 that it held the main contract signing ceremony of the Philippine Southern Urban Railway, in the presence of the Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and many distinguished guests. 

[ Hyundai E&C CEO Yoon Young-joon (far right in the front row) and Philippine Transportation Minister Jamie Bautista (center of the front row) are taken on photos after signing the contract. ]

[ Hyundai E&C held a ceremony to sign the main contract for the Philippine Southern Urban Railway project worth KRW 2 trillion. The photo shows Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center of the front row), Transport Minister Bautista (right of the front row), Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Kim In-cheol (left of the front row), and Hyundai E&C President Yoon Young-joon (third from right of the back row). ]

Last September, Hyundai E&C received a notice of award (NOA) for the construction of South Commuter Railway Project Contract Package S-O4/05/06 from the Philippine Department of Transportation, and the total budget amounts to around two trillion won. Hyundai E&C will oversee the entire construction except for some foundation work.

Hyundai E&C CEO Yoon Young-joon and Philippine Transportation Minister Jamie J. Baustista attended the signing ceremony held in front of a monument in Jose Rizal Park in the southern Philippines of Calamba on the 6th. The Jose Rizal Park is located in Calamba, the hometown of Jose Rizal, an independent hero and revolutionist of the Philippines. It holds historic significance and is also the final destination of the section 6 of the Southern Urban Railway, which was awarded to Hyundai E&C for construction. In particular, more than 150 officials attended the event, including Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Transport Minister Jamie J. Bautista, Calamba Mayor Roseller H. Rizal, and South Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Kim In-cheol.

The signing ceremony was an opportunity to strengthen the position of Hyundai E&C and status of K-construction, while confirming the Philippine government's firm commitment and expectations for the Southern Urban Railway project.

In a recent State of the Union address, President Marcos announced that he would accelerate large-scale railway projects and asked the Department of Transportation (DoTr) for its interest and support. Furthermore, with his presence during the signing ceremony of the Southern Urban Railway Project, he expressed firm commitment to the railway infrastructure construction in the Philippines. During the signing ceremony, President said, “the Southern Urban Railway Project will play a central role in the Philippines' economic recovery and job creation, which have been stagnant since COVID-19 outbreak and will contribute to national economic growth and social integration”, adding that, “the project is expected to raise the Philippine transportation system to a global level, and I will  spare no support for its successful completion.”

A Philippine government official explained that, “the Southern Urban Railway project, which Hyundai E&C won in 2020, followed by the Northern Urban Railway project, is expected to contribute greatly to the development of the Philippines as part of its major national priority of infrastructure expansion program.”

Hyundai E&C CEO Yoon Young-joon said, "We expect that the Southern Railway project will serve as an opportunity for both Korea and the Philippines to accelerate developmental cooperation and economic exchanges as both nations celebrate our 73th anniversary of diplomatic ties,” stressing that, “Hyundai E&C will leverage our technology accumulated in the global market and the know-how in large infrastructure construction projects, to do its best to bring this project to a successful completion.”

Meanwhile, the Philippine Southern Urban Railway project, won by Hyundai E&C, is a 56km long railway construction project connecting southern Calamba from downtown Manila, the capital city, and Korea’s leading builder will be responsible for three sections (section 4, 5, 6) out of a total of nine sections to build 9 ground stations and an elevated bridge of about 32km. The construction will last for 57 months from date of groundbreaking.

The focus of Philippine government on large-scale railway project is expected to contribute to improving the quality of life its population by solving urban traffic issues and improving the convenience of inter-regional transportation centering on the capital Manila, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by improving the transportation system.

Hyundai E&C has built national infrastructure such as energy facilities and bridges since it first entered the Philippine construction market in 1986 by winning a new construction project from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Manila. Furthermore, Hyundai E&C has established a solid position as a reliable partner in building infrastructure in the Philippines by winning orders for the Section 4,5, and 6 of the Southern Urban Railway following the construction of the northern section of the Northern-Southern Railway in 2020. In addition, by winning a series of orders for the Philippine government's large-scale railway projects, beating the world's leading competitors, Hyundai E&C laid the foundation for business expansion in the Philippine construction market which is expected to undergo massive large scale developments in future, while securing a comparative advantage.

As the Philippine government declared that it would actively pursue large-scale infrastructure development projects, Hyundai E&C plans to strengthen its leading K-construction status and trust among countries by strengthening technology-based cooperation proven in the global market and successfully carrying out projects.