Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas railway project gets grant from Sweden

The Swedish government has extended a 12 million Swedish krona (around PHP74 million) grant for the Luzon Economic Corridor’s (LEC) flagship Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas (SCMB) railway project.

The Office of Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA), in a press release on Wednesday, said the agreement was signed between the Government of Sweden, through Swedfund International, and the Department of Transportation (DOTr), and the document for the grant was presented at the Malacañang Palace on Wednesday.

“Swedfund’s grant will fund a feasibility study on signaling systems and operational models for the SCMB railway - the anchor infrastructure initiative of the LEC that will connect the major ports of Subic, Manila, and Batangas, strengthening logistics and trade across Luzon,” it said.

It said the Manila-based “Asian Development Bank will oversee procurement of the consultant for the main feasibility study.”

SAPIEA Secretary Frederick Go and Swedish Ambassador to the Philippines Anna Ferry led the group during the presentation.

They were joined by Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department Head for Asia, the Pacific and Latin America Daniel Wolvén, Sweden’s Trade Commissioner to the Philippines Johan Lennefalk, DOTr officials led by Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez, and representatives from the Department of Finance and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“This partnership between the Philippines and Sweden advances the President’s vision of developing globally competitive logistics infrastructure that will drive investment and inclusive growth,” Go said in his keynote address during the event.

Ferry, in turn, welcomed the partnership, saying: “This additional agreement with the Department of Transportation is a remarkable example of synergies and cooperation between public and private efforts.”

“We are proud to support the Philippines’ development goals with Swedish technology and expertise in transportation and provide a boost for sustainable growth and opportunities,” she said.

OSAPEIA said the Swedfund International’s support “complements the June 2025 funding from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, which supports parallel studies on transport modeling, port–rail integration, and institutional planning.” (PNA)

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PH, US sign deal to develop the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas freight railway

The Philippines and the United States have signed an agreement to pursue the development of the proposed Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas (SCMB) freight railway, a strategic infrastructure project designed to alleviate port congestion in key trade hubs and foster broader economic growth and connectivity.

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon and US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) Acting Director Thomas Hardy signed the agreement in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday (June 26).

In a statement released by the DOTr, the USTDA said that its technical assistance for the SCMB Railway involves transport model development, a port-rail integration study, and an analysis of the legal and institutional framework, among other activities.

Hardy said the project “underscores the US-Philippine alliance’s vital role in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region. By supporting the development of the SCMB Railway, we are ensuring that key infrastructure will flourish, increasing economic cooperation to develop an essential trading route that will mutually benefit American and Philippine citizens.”

Dizon said the 155-kilometer railway is designed to connect three of the country’s major ports—Manila, Subic Bay, and Batangas—enhancing logistical efficiency and regional connectivity.

“As a freight cargo railway, the SCMB Railway is seen to solve port traffic and congestion in Manila Port, while ensuring the timely movement of products to and from adjacent major transport hubs,” Dizon said.

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick D. Go said the project enhances the initiative to link major economic hubs under the Luzon Economic Corridor.

“Once operational, the SCMB Railway will attract investments, create new opportunities for businesses, and most importantly, generate quality jobs that will benefit millions of Filipinos,” Go said. (SNL)

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Subic-Clark Railway Project endorsed for Luzon Economic Corridor

The Subic-Clark Railway Project (SCRP), expansion of the Clark International Airport, and the Clark National Food Hub are among the high-impact projects offered to American and Japanese investors in the proposed Luzon Economic Corridor, which forms part of the Group of Seven (G7) Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII). 

 

During the trilateral meeting of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., US President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington DC early this month, it was unveiled that the G7 countries eye to develop the Luzon Economic Corridor. The Luzon Economic Corridor aims to establish connectivity in economic hubs in Luzon – Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas. 

Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Joshua M. Bingcang said BCDA is optimistic that the inclusion of SCRP, expansion of Clark International Airport, and the Clark National Food Hub in the proposed Luzon Economic Corridor will help accelerate the implementation of these game-changing infrastructure projects, not just for the country but for the whole Indo-Pacific region. 

SCRP, a joint project with the Department of Transportation, is an integral part of the Philippine National Railways Luzon System Development Framework. Once completed, it will provide initial freight service between the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone, linking Subic Port with Clark International Airport and other major economic hubs in Central Luzon, especially New Clark City. 

BCDA is also embarking on the expansion of Clark International Airport, which includes the construction of a second runway, taxiways, aprons, and landside access roads and utilities, intended to cater to major logistics firms locating in Clark. 

Meanwhile, the BCDA subsidiary Clark International Airport Corporation will also develop the 64-hectare Clark National Food Terminal hub aimed at making the Philippines a leading agricultural resource hub in the region and the world. 

These three high-impact projects are BCDA's contribution to the efforts of Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go to drive sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the country and make the Philippines a top investment destination. (SNL)

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Subic crew-change hub begins operations

Subic started operations as a crew-change hub on Thursday, September 10, with the arrival here of five Filipino seafarers who finally disembarked after being stranded aboard their ship for several months due to port restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said this was the first batch of crewmen to arrive here after Subic was designated by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) as a hub for international crew change.

The five Filipinos disembarked from MV Dapeng Star, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker based in Hong Kong.

“The operation went without a hitch and was over in just a matter of three hours,” Eisma said. She recounted that at 7:40 a.m., a tugboat left the San Bernardino jetty here to meet up with Dapeng Star, which had anchored near Grande Island at the mouth of Subic Bay.

The tugboat carried personnel from the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and the Coast Guard, who conducted the initial health check-up of the inbound seafarers and had them suited up in personal protective equipment (PPE) prior to disembarkation.

“At 10 a.m. the tugboat was back at the jetty, the five seafarers in blue PPEs got off, had their baggage checked by K-9, boarded a van to the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) at the Subic airport where they got swabbed for RT-PCR test and had their documents processed by the Bureau of Quarantine and Bureau of Immigration,” Eisma noted.

“At exactly 11:14 a.m., or just over three hours, the seafarers were already departing for the Manila Grand Opera Hotel, which shall serve as their quarantine facility for 14 days,” she added.

The opening of the Subic crew-change hub is expected to ease the current congestion in Manila Bay where merchant ships with Filipino crewmen await their turn to disembark their crew and take in fresh personnel. The Philippines is among the biggest suppliers of manpower in the shipping industry today.

Eisma pointed out that the problem on crew-change does not only concern crewmen longing to go home to their families, or the congested ports where ships await their turn to disembark their crew.

“It is, in fact, a problem of huge proportion because it affects the global supply chain,” she said. “With the start of crew-change operations here, Subic becomes a part of the solution to this global problem,” she added.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr), which spearheads the inter-agency project, said the Subic operation is part of the “Philippine Green Lane” put up for the speedy and safe travel of seafarers and swift crew change during the Covid-19 pandemic. The other crew-change hubs are the Port of Manila and Port Capinpin in Bataan.

Subic was designated as a crew change hub in July, and was formally opened on August 22. However, operations here only involve point-to-point embarkation and disembarkation pending approval of the second phase where inbound seafarers could quarantine in local hotels after their RT-PCR test.

DOTr Assistant Secretary Narciso Vingson, who supervised the maiden crew-change operation in Subic, stressed that crew-change protocols were strictly observed and that a “no-contact” policy was put in place to ensure the safety of the seafarers and the attending personnel.

Vingson said that prior to debarkation, the seafarers were made to undergo customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) procedures on board the ship. Thereafter, they were debriefed, RT-PCR tested and processed at the Subic OSS, before transported to a mandatory quarantine facility in Manila.  (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] Filipino crewmen disembark from the LNG tanker Dapeng Star anchored on Subic Bay during the first crew-change operation in the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday, Sept. 10

[2] Disembarked Filipino seafarers arrive at the San Bernardino jetty during the first crew-change operation in the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday, Sept. 10

[3] A newly-disembarked Filipino seafarer gives the thumbs up during the first crew-change operation in the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday, Sept. 10

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DOTr holds dry run to test Subic crew-change protocols

 The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Friday conducted a dry run in the point-to-point embarkation and debarkation of seafarers in preparation for the proposed activation of the Port of Subic as a crew-change hub.

The practice run held at the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) complex involved departure and arrival procedures at the former Hanjin ferry landing near the airport, using tugboats to transport the crew to and from ships at anchorage.

Meanwhile, the more complex arrival procedure was simulated at the Subic airport terminal where new arrivals would undergo the required swab test, have their documents processed at a one-stop-shop, and thereafter proceed to a mandatory quarantine facility.

In the test run, DOTr officials gave assurances on the safety of the procedures and said the crew-change protocols to be implemented here are the best practices in the maritime sector.

“The system we are implementing has incorporated lessons we have learned from earlier activities,” said Vice Admiral Narciso Vingson, who is DOTr assistant secretary for communications and commuter affairs.

“During the mass repatriation of seafarers from cruise ships, there were steps that have already been corrected to ensure that health will not be compromised – for the workers and the seafarers. To be able to check this, we have involved all parties, national and local government and agencies,” Vingson added.

 

The simulations on Friday were witnessed by representatives of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), local government units (LGUs) around the Subic Bay Freeport, and other agencies involved in the project.

Feedback from LGU representatives present in Friday’s dry run focused mostly on local workers who might be exposed to Covid-19 infection during crew-change operations, a concern raised earlier by SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma.

Eisma said that Subic is willing to host the crew-change hub project, but stressed that safety measures should be in place in all phases of the project and that LGUs should be consulted in all aspects because workers who would man crew-change facilities will come from communities contiguous to Subic.

So far, Eisma said, the SBMA board of directors had only approved the first phase of the project, which involves the point-to-point embarkation of seafarers, pending local consensus on the second phase which involves the quarantine of arriving crewmen in hotels within the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

In the dry run, DOTr Undersecretary Raul Del Rosario, who is administrator of the Office for Transport Security (OTS), pointed out that the one-stop-shop system would not allow direct exposure between seafarers and processors who would be coming from the Bureau of Quarantine, and that no airport staff would be directly involved in the crew-change operation.

Regarding phase two, Del Rosario said the safety requirements of LGUs “can be met easily because they have already been included in the protocols.” 

“All hotel workers will be housed. They will be quarantined for 14 days before being allowed to go home,” he added.

Del Rosario also said that in order to ensure transparency of crew-change operations, LGUs will be represented in the one-stop-shop monitoring team, which will be given updates and reports on a regular basis.

The activation of Subic as crew-change hub is national government undertaking involving the DOTr as lead agency, and supported by the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Interior and Local Government, the SBMA, and other government agencies. 

The project seeks to implement the so-called Philippine Green Lane to facilitate the speedy and safe travel of seafarers, including their safe and swift crew change during the Covid-19 pandemic.  (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1-] “Outbound seafarers” arrive at the Subic ferry landing for ship embarkation during a crew-change dry run conducted by the Department of Transportation at the Subic Bay Freeport on Friday, Aug. 14.

[2] “Outbound seafarers” ride a tugboat to embark on a ship during a crew-change dry run. 

[3] “Inbound seafarers” undergo swabbing and processing of documents. 

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