Leighton-First Balfour Joint Venture (LFBJV) said it has started erecting the diaphragm-wall for a crucial Bicutan underground train station of the North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project, the Philippines’ longest railway venture designed to cut travel time and carry more commuters.
In a statement, the joint venture between Lopez Group’s engineering firm arm First Balfour and Hong Kong construction giant Leighton Asia, said the reinforced concrete diaphragm-wall will play a critical role in providing support and foundational stability for the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) train station underneath Bicutan in Taguig City.
LFBJV was among the contractors joining the ceremonial signing for two packages of the NSCR project on April 27, 2023. The JV signed the PHP 24-billion Contract Package (CP) S-03B, the only package with a tunnel component among the nine NSCR-South packages.
To mark the milestone, representatives from the Department of Transportation–Project Management Office (DOTR-PMO), the Greater Capital Railway Consortium–Project Management Office (GCR-PMO) and the LFBJV project management team held a simple ceremony recently.
The DOTR-PMO oversees the NSCR project by directing policy, allocating resources, and ensuring the project’s efficient implementation. The GCR-PMO, on the other hand, monitors construction progress, ensures technical compliance, and coordinates with the contractors involved in the segment.
The 147-kilometer (km) NSCR is an urban rail system that will span from Clark, Pampanga to Calamba, Laguna, once completed. The trains in the NSCR will have the capacity to carry 800,000 daily commuters and run at speeds of up to 130 kms per hour for faster commuting.
The project segment for LFBJV covers civil engineering, tunnel construction, and building works for a 6.1-km railway segment that consist of 4.7 kms of twin tube tunnels with cross passages and 1.4 kms of cut & cover and ground-level structures.
The underground FTI station will serve as an intermodal transfer hub connecting the ground-level and elevated sections of the NSCR with the underground Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP). Now also undergoing construction, the 33-km MMSP is another railway project designed likewise to decongest and ease commuting between Valenzuela City in Metro Manila’s northern end and Bicutan to the south.
First Balfour, a subsidiary of Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings Corporation, has participated in constructing some of the country’s biggest infrastructure projects. These included the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, the North Luzon Expressway, and the Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension, to name a few.
Leighton Asia, a leading international construction company, has participated in a wide range of infrastructure projects, including complex tunnels, rail networks, roads, and buildings. It operates in the Philippines and other countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India.
