Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday inspected a relocation site for families moved from along the future northern Luzon railway system.

Official statement said that the president visited the resettlement site being developed by the government to house families living along the railroad track in Valenzuela City, north part of Metro Manila.

The site code-named HARV 2 is the second resettlement village, who welcomed the president presenting basic daily-life services, ranging from medical booths to livelihood facilities.

The offering provided by several governmental sectors is an " early Christmas gift" to the poor residents, the president said at the site.

The two relocation sites so far established are absorbing thousands of local families moved from their original residence. The Philippine government estimated that nearly 5,000 families in the rehabilitation project are expected to benefit from the HARV 2 site alone.

In order to build the 32-kilometer railway, a total of more than 20,000 families need to be moved and relocated by the Philippine government, officials said.

The new north Luzon railway will be designed and built by Chinese constructors through favorable low-interest loans to the Philippines. The Chinese and Philippine governments have both endorsed the construction by written agreements.

The railway will link Metro Manila and the provinces to its north, aiming to promote job opportunities and investment, but the building schedule has been delayed since February, due to earlier resettlement inaction and the political bickering around president Arroyo.

Source: Xinhua