DOTr chief invites US firms to invest in big-ticket transport projects

A meeting between the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and a United States delegation led by the US Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago in Manila on Wednesday (Nov. 13, 2024). During the meeting, DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista presented the country’s big-ticket infrastructure projects as investment opportunities for US companies as well as areas of cooperation between the two countries. (Photo courtesy of DOTr)

MANILA – Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista has invited US companies to invest in some of the Philippines’ big-ticket transport projects.

Bautista said projects that would interest US firms are the modernization of regional airports, big-ticket railway projects such as the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System, the Metro Manila Subway and the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas Rail.

These projects, he said, would serve as both areas of cooperation between the two countries as well as investment opportunities for US companies.

He made the cooperation proposal to the US Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade, Marisa Lago, during a meeting on Wednesday.

During the meeting, Lago cited Chicago’s metro system as a possible blueprint for future rail lines in the Philippines.

Lago is leading a US smart city trade mission in the Philippines with US Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Ewing, and US Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs Aileen Nandi.

On Wednesday, Bautista also signed a memorandum of agreement with US-based digital identity company Ultrapass to pilot a biometrics processing system in the country’s airports.

He thanked the US government for its support in revolutionizing the country’s transport system.

He said the biometric system would not only provide more convenient passenger processing but also enhance security protocols. (PNA)