The Ministry of Transportation in the Philippines has awarded the project management consultancy contract for the Mindanao Railway Phase 1 PPP project to the Chinese consortium.

The consortium comprises China Railway Design Corp. and Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co. The contract value is estimated at PHP3.08 billion (US$61 million). The selected team will manage pre-construction activities and the defects notification period for approximately 33 months.

The authorities are in the process to shortlist the final bidders for design and build package for the first phase of the project. The Mindanao Railway Phase 1 involves the development of a 100.2-kilometer long railway line passing through Tagum, Davao, and Digos. The estimated value for the development works for this segment is PHP82.9 billion (US$1.66 billion), which is being financed by the Chinese Government's development assistance package. The first phase is expected to be operational by June 2023.