The Philippines has said it welcomes closer cooperation with China both at the government level and in private sector in the areas of transportation development and infrastructure construction.
In a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua, Joseph Emilio Abaya, secretary of the Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications, said that the Philippines can learn a lot from China when it comes to mass transit projects and traffic management.
Dalian Locomotive, a subsidiary of China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation Limited, will supply 48 light vehicles for the MRT-3 of Metro Manila, the country's capital, starting from early next year.
When asked to what extend does he expect the deal to help ease MRT transportation pressure, Abaya said the new trains will be "a very big help for us."
"Just to reflect how important Dalian's role in solving our transportation problem in the main avenue of Metro Manila, we send our delegates to the company every month just to make sure a faster delivery," the secretary said.
The official said Dalian Locomotive went through a competitive bid for the MRT-3 deal, and the Philippine side saw the company's world-class facility and truly believes in Dalian's capability.
Abaya said that recently LRT-1 is also considering buying vehicles from Dalian Locomotive.
On Sino-Philippine cooperation in the field of infrastructure construction especially in transportation sector, the official said the cooperation should be carried out between both at the government level and in private sector.
In fact, China's construction companies have long been participating in road, rail and power projects in the Philippines, he said, hoping such participation will continue.
Abaya said the department of transportation and communication welcomes more Chinese enterprises to come to the Philippines and work hand in hand with local companies.
"Filipino companies that partner with Chinese companies can bring in Chinese technology, financial capacity, and best practices," said Abaya, adding there are great potentials for cooperation between the two countries.
"The Philippines has a lot of mass transit systems in the pipeline like the light rail and north-south rail projects. A Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project is also being planned in Metro Manila, and the country can learn a lot from the BRT system in south Chinese city of Guangzhou."
China can offer best practice and high quality products to those who are in need, the official said.
Metro Manila, on a city level, ranked number one with the "worst traffic on Earth" based on a global evaluation conducted by Waze, a GPS-based navigation app widely used in the country.
