First Balfour Inc., a company under the Lopez conglomerate, and its partner are set to commence the construction of a portion of the North South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project in the first half of the year.
The project, estimated to cost around P24 billion, aims to enhance commuter rail services in the country.
In April, the Leighton-First Balfour Joint Venture (LFBJV) secured two packages of the NSCR project in a signing ceremony held at Malacanang with President Marcos.
The P24-billion Contract Package (CP) S-03B, which includes a tunnel component, was among the signed contracts. LFBJV officially received the award for the package in February 2023.
CP S-03B entails various civil works, tunnel construction, and building activities for a railway spanning approximately 6.1 kilometers, running alongside a section of the South Luzon Expressway. The scope of the project encompasses a 4.7-kilometer underground railway, a 1.4-kilometer ground-level railway, the construction of the FTI station, and tunneling operations to connect FTI to the Senate Station of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP).
During First Philippine Holdings Corp.’s annual stockholders meeting, company president Giles Puno highlighted First Balfour’s strong expertise in infrastructure development as well as the company’s potential for growth.