US envoy offers support for Mindanao Railway Project

United States (US) Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Loss Carlson has formally offered support to various transport infrastructure projects in the country, with emphasis on providing assistance for the completion of the Mindanao Railway Project (MRP).

In a Facebook post on Friday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Carlson offered to provide technical assistance for implementing and developing the MRP in a meeting with DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista. “The assistance, which will be coursed through the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will encompass the early stage project preparation and development of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) structure, to facilitate increased private sector investment and participation,” the DOTr said.

Carlson and other US officials also offered to provide training assistance to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), particularly in the operational maintenance of their vessels.

“The Ambassador likewise informed Secretary Bautista of the satisfactory findings of the US

FORMAL SUPPORT. US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Loss Carlson (4th from left), Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista (5th from left), and other US and Philippine officials during a meeting on Friday (Oct. 14, 2022). During the meeting, Carlson formally offered US support in various transportation infrastructure projects in the country such as the Mindanao Railway Project. (Photo courtesy of DOTr) Transportation Security Administration (US-TSA) on its recent security assessment of the NAIA, as well as the local airlines flying to the US,” it said. Carlson was accompanied in the meeting by US Maritime Law Enforcement Advisor Mark Everson, Transport Security Administration attaché Robert Rouland, John Avrett of USAID, and Joseph Russo of the US Embassy in Manila. (PNA/ Raymond Carl Dela Cruz)

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