Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21) — Construction firm D.M. Consunji, Inc. has alloted ₱2 billion in the next two years as it begins work on the first phase of a commuter railway that will connect Bulacan and Manila.

In a disclosure, its parent firm DMCI Holdings, Inc. said the amount is earmarked largely for the purchase of construction equipment as they build Phase 1 of the government's planned North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR).

The Department of Transportation signed the contract with DMCI and its Japanese partner Taisei Corp. on Monday.

The 147-kilometer NSCR is among the biggest infrastructure projects being pursued by the Duterte administration. The project is worth ₱777.55 billion, with a big chunk of funding coming from official development assistance from Japan.

The ₱54-billion contract for this segment covers the construction of about 22 kilometers of train tracks mounted on elevated structures, six stations, and a train depot in Valenzuela. The stations will traverse Solis Street in Tondo, Manila, Caloocan, Valenzuela and Meycauayan, Marilao, and Bocaue in Bulacan, the DOTr said.

Before this, work has started to put up train stations in Balagtas, Guiguinto and Malolos, Bulacan.

The listed developer said the project is eyed to be completed in 42 months or by end-2022. DMCI said they are looking to hire up to 5,000 direct and indirect workers in the next three years to meet this deadline.

The existing alignment of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) will be used for the project, which spans from Malolos, Bulacan all the way to Tutuban in Manila.

DMCI said this is their fifth railway project, having been given the contracts to build the north extension of the Light Rail Transit line 1, the east extension of the LRT Line 2, together with two other PNR projects.

The construction firm is also developing the Dubai Monorail in the United Arab Emirates.

Once completed, the train line is expected to trim travel time between Malolos and Tutuban to just 35 minutes. Trains are expected to serve 300,000 passengers daily, and will run at a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour.