UIWANG, 29 June 2016 - Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez urged Hyundai Rotem, Co. at a meeting on Monday, 27 June 2016 to put up manufacturing facilities in the Philippines after completing its ongoing project to supply train cars for the proposed extension of Metro Manila's elevated urban train system.

Ambassador Hernandez visited Hyundai Rotem's headquarters in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, to meet with its President and CEO Kim Seung-tak, together with Commercial Counsellor Emmanuel Ang and Trade Assistant Aija Jeon of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) attached to the Philippine Embassy in Seoul.

Part of the Hyundai Motors Group, Hyundai Rotem specializes in manufacturing train rolling stock and train systems, defense products, and plant equipment. It was awarded in January 2016 a KRW530-billion (US$440.2 million) turnkey contract by Universal LRT Corp. to supply 108 train cars together with signaling, communications, and power supplies for Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7).

Hyundai Rotem briefed the Ambassador on their MRT-7 project, which involves the construction of a 22.8-km elevated railway line with 14 stations from an existing station in the MRT-3 inter-change at North Avenue, Quezon City to San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.

It also involves the construction of a 22-km asphalt road from Bocaue Interchange of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) to the Intermodal Transportation Terminal (ITT) slated for construction in Tala, Caloocan City to help decongest EDSA, Manila's main circumferential freeway, by diverting provincial buses operating in northern Luzon to the ITT connected to the MRT-7.

The project, which is Hyundai Rotem's first turnkey metro contract outside Korea, is due to be completed by the middle of 2019.

Hyundai Rotem President Kim assured Ambassador Hernandez of the excellent quality and timely delivery of the train cars. The two agreed that the project's successful completion is crucial, which could pave the way for Hyundai Rotem's involvement in more infrastructure and private-public partnership (PPP) projects in the Philippines in the future.

Ambassador Hernandez invited Hyundai Rotem, which has just opened a small office in Manila, to consider more investments into the Philippines.

In particular, he suggested the possibility of Hyundai Rotem putting up a manufacturing operation in the Philippines, to serve the ASEAN Community. Hyundai Rotem responded positively and said they will look into this, especially if they enter into more projects in the future.

Ambassador Hernandez and President Kim also discussed possible cooperation in armored vehicles, as well as the opportunities in the Philippines for other industries under the Hyundai Motor Group such as car parts manufacturing.