MANILA – Japan believes that “safety” should be the “heart” of the railway business, amidst new technology and accelerated growth of the industry.
Attending the 2nd Philippine Railway Conference on Thursday, Japan Embassy’s Minister for Economic Affairs NIHEI Daisuke underscored the importance of safety, as the heart of the railway business.
Nihei also expressed his hopes that through the conference, the railway industry, the Philippine government and the academe will continue to “collaborate and contribute to the future development of railway projects in the Philippines.”
The 2nd Philippine Railway Conference was held in Quezon City and was organized by the Philippine Railway Institute (PRI), with the aim of exchanging views on the latest railway technology with the academe and the railway industry, the Japanese Embassy said.
With the theme “Reinforcing Safety and Security in the Philippine Railway Sector,” the conference was held to exchange views on the latest information on railway maintenance and management, the Japanese Embassy added.
Aside from Minister Nihei, the conference was attended by Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista.
Transportation Sec. Jaime Bautista attends the 2nd Philippine Railway Conference on Thursday (Photo courtesy of Embassy of Japan in the PH)
The Government of Japan has remained steadfast in supporting many infrastructure and transportation projects of the Philippines by providing loans from Official Development Fund (ODA) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Last October, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines ENDO Kazuya attended the Viaduct Span Connection Ceremony for the North-South Commuter Railway Project (Malolos to Tutuban).
In his remarks, Endo reiterated Japan’s continued support for the project and said that it is “an honor to be a key partner” of the Philippine Government in pushing for high quality infrastructure projects in the country, particularly railway projects.
Aside from railway projects, an estimated JPY 55.7 billion (USD 1 billion) loan amount from JICA was earmarked for the construction of the country’s first 33 km Metro Manila Subway.
