Acciona brings construction expertise to Malolos-Clark rail project

SPANISH company Acciona, together with its local partner EEI, will build one of the sections of the P19-billion Malolos-Clark Railway Project of the Department of Transportation.

The Asian Development Bank-financed contract involves the construction of a 6.5-kilometer main railway line, which includes an elevated portion, an underground section with cut and cover that will give access to the Clark International Airport station, substation, and auxiliary facilities. The rail line will become a major transport infrastructure in the metropolitan region of Manila.

“The project will cut the travel time between Clark and Manila from two to three hours by bus to one hour by train while reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by more than 60,000 tons annually,” said Ruben Camba, country manager of Acciona.

According to him, this initiative will create about 24,000 local construction jobs in the next three years and 14,000 more jobs related to the railway system’s operation. “It will lead to larger, indirect employment, and economic benefits to local businesses, such as suppliers of raw materials, which in turn will create more jobs,” he added.

Acciona has vast rail infrastructure experience. The group is now constructing the Follo Line in Oslo, Norway for the Norwegian Railway Authority, which will become the longest railway tunnels in Scandinavia upon completion.

Likewise, it is responsible for the Legacy Way tunnels in Brisbane, Australia, a project that has since received numerous awards for both its technical execution and environmental protection measures. Another noteworthy project is the company’s design and execution of the Dubai Metro Red Line expansion for Expo 2020.

It developed line 3 of the Santiago de Chile Metro and line 1 of the Quito Metro in Ecuador. In Spain, it has built several metro lines in both Madrid and Barcelona.

Opening its commercial office in Manila in April 2019, Acciona has been operating in the country since 2016 after being awarded the contract for the design, construction, operation, and one-year maintenance of the $127-million Putatan II water treatment plant that will cater to nearly 1.5 million people.

At present, the Spanish firm is developing the 650-meter-long Cebu-Cordova cable-stayed bridge, which will link Cebu City and Mactan International Airport. The project has so far reached the 50-percent completion mark.

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Article and Photo originally posted by Business Mirror last August 19, 2020 and written by Roderick Abad.