DOTC still reviewing Northrail project

MANILA, Philippines -  Several months after starting a review of the $503-million contract with a Chinese firm for the Northrail project, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said discussions are still ongoing to determine the fate of the project.

“We are still in discussions with the Chinese contractor,” said Transportation Secretary Jose de Jesus on the government’s contract with China National Machinery and Equipment Corp. Group (CNMEG).

“We’re looking at the terms of the agreement, the pricing, and so on.” The department had originally set a timetable of six months to review the contract and was expected to release its findings last January. In July last year, President Aquino returned the Northrail project under the supervision of the DOTC and ordered the agency to review the contract with the Chinese firm. During her term, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had placed the Northrail project under the supervision of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).