France has expressed to the Philippines its readiness to extend and increase financing to various priority railway projects, including the 577-kilometer Manila-Bicol South Long Haul (SLH) and LRT Line 2 modernization, as it eyed potential signing of railway deals during the planned visit of President Marcos to France in the second semester this year.
This was raised during the high-level meetings held in the country between Mr. Laurent Saint-Martin, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad, and Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon and other government officials last week to firm up Franco-Philippines cooperation in transport. The two-day visit on April 10-11, 2025 of the top French official culminated in the signing of six agreements, mostly involving transportation, particularly maritime, aviation and other trade boosting deals.
During the meeting, the French delegation said they are ready to support new projects of the Philippine government and consider financing strategic ones, such as those related to the Luzon Economic Corridor and in particular the SLH project. France said it has already successfully mobilized both the AFD and export financing (guarantee and treasury loans) to finance major railway projects.
Also known as the Bicol Express, the SLH project aims to connect Metro Manila with the Bicol Region, significantly reducing travel time from the current 14-18 hours to 4-6 hours. This project is part of the larger Luzon Rail System, a network of long-distance standard-gauge lines being built by the Philippine National Railways (PNR) across Luzon.
Additional financing partners mentioned by the French delegation include the EIB (European Investment Bank). Tapping the EIB for the Philippine infrastructure project would mean a return of the bank to the Philippines after 20 years. The return of EIB in the country could develop diverse partnership and boost France’s position as gateway to the Philippines.
Likewise, French firms have been mobilized and are ready to increase financing to accelerate the modernization of the LRT-2 line.
The French side further expressed eagerness to work on two projects with the goal of signing a document next fall, which could be a highlight during the planned visit of President Marcos to France, possibly in the second semester this year.
French companies and public financing play a big role in the modernization of Philippines’ transportation sector, through infrastructure and expertise.
They have completed the extension of the LRT1 line and they are fully committed to provide their components of the Manila North-South Railroad (NSCR), as well as the first line of the Manila Metro Subway project. They are also ready to bring into service before June 2028 the common station between lines LRT1 and MRT 3.
Alstom, Colas-RAIL, Bouygues TP and RATP-DEV, among others, also want to increase their activities in the Philippines.
