ROW acquisition for NSCR North surges to 65.5%

Right-of-way (RoW) acquisition for the North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) North segment has reached 65.5 percent, surging from 7.59 percent in March 2025, as the Department of Transportation (DoTr) accelerated land acquisition for its flagship rail projects.

The increase followed a joint initiative with the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), which produced 345 expropriation pleadings in a single batch — the largest in DoTr history — after a three-day workshop in Clark, Pampanga.

The filings are expected to expedite the acquisition of land along the Clark–Malolos corridor for the NSCR, as well as key sites for the Metro Manila Subway Project.

ROW acquisition has long been a major bottleneck in infrastructure delivery, with delays in land procurement affecting construction timelines.

The latest batch of legal filings is aimed at addressing these constraints and sustaining project momentum.

Transportation Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez underscored the importance of the DoTr-OSG partnership in speeding up the process.

“We need to hasten this to fast-track the construction of transport projects so that passengers can benefit from this,” Lopez said.

Assistant Secretary for Right-of-Way and Site Acquisition IC Calaguas said the pleadings cover critical parcels needed to advance both rail projects.

“These are all crucial right-of-way parcels for NSCR and MMSP. To the men and women of OSG, please continue to be our partner in attaining 100 percent right-of-way for our rail projects,” Calaguas said.

For the MMSP, RoW acquisition has increased to 90.8 percent from 51 percent, while compensation has been released to 1,537 of 2,647 affected households (58.51 percent).

The NSCR North (Malolos–Clark) segment is targeted to be operational by 2028, with the southern segment slated for completion by 2031. The MMSP is expected to be completed by 2032.