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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) are to help the Government of the Philippines prepare its largest public private partnership (PPP) project to, the North-South Railway Project (NSRP) (South Line).

Specifically, ADB and DBP have signed an agreement to provide joint advice to the Department of Transportation and Communications on the PPP structure and bidding process. The deal marks ADB's first transaction advisory service in the Philippines and its first in the transport sector.

Ryuichi Kaga, Head of ADB's Office of Public-Private Partnership, stated:

"The North-South Railway is the backbone of transport in the Philippines and swifter links between the southern provinces and the capital city will mean more people can reap the rewards of the country's strong economic growth. As a major part of the ASEAN transport web, the project will also help connect the Philippines better to the rest of the region."

The P170.7 billion (US$3.84 billion) project will build or upgrade 653 km of rail lines from Manila through Legaspi City down to Matnog in the far south of the main island of Luzon, and to Batangas in southwest Luzon. Commuter rail operations will be upgraded for the 56 kilometers from Manila to Calamba. The line is intended to connect seamlessly with existing and planned light railway and metro rail transit lines in Metro Manila.

The PPP project will also improve long-haul and commuter stations, repair bridges, and modernize signaling and fare collection systems. In addition to designing and building the railway, the winners of the PPP concession will also operate and maintain the South Line for 30 years.

ADB has long supported PPPs and on 1 September 2014 it formally established the Office of Public-Private Partnership to provide independent transaction advice on specific deals and develop broader PPP knowledge in the region.

On 19 February we reported that the government of Philippines approved the project along with two other PPPs the NLEx-SLEx Connector Road and the Cavite Laguna Expressway (CALAx).

We have recently reported about several PPP projects in Philippines:

• Regional Prison Facilities
• Integrated Transport System (ITS) for the Cavite Southwest Terminal
• Development of the Davao Sasa Port
• Philippine airport package B
• Philippine airport package A
• Laguna Lakeshore expressway and dike