President Duterte, Prime Minister Abe To Seal Mega Manila Subway Project Deal This November

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are set to sign in November an agreement that will pave the way for the construction of the Mega Manila Subway Project, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade said April 18 at the “Dutertenomics” forum held at the Conrad Manila in Pasay City.

Secretary Tugade said the railway project would help decongest traffic in Metro Manila and promote ease of mobility as it would connect the metropolis to neighboring provinces.

The Transportation Secretary also said the construction of the Mega Manila Subway Project is set to start by the fourth quarter of 2019, and expected to be completed by 2024.

The P227 million subway project is envisioned to become a 25 kilometer underground mass transport system linking major business districts and government centers.

It is expected to serve more than 300,000 passengers daily.

According to Secretary Tugade, the project will be funded through official development assistance (ODA) and the government will be utilizing Japanese expertise on underground railway system.

The first phase of the subway system will traverse Quezon City to Taguig City with 13 stations.

The subway’s proposed stops are: Mindanao Avenue, North Avenue, Quezon Avenue, East Avenue, Anonas, Katipunan, Ortigas North, Ortigas South, Kalayaan, Bonifacio Global City, Cayetano Boulevard, Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Its feasibility study which is being conducted with the help of a grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is expected to be completed by July and will be presented to the government.

Under the proposal, the subway would start from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, to Dasmariñas City, Cavite.

The study focuses on the central zone of the subway starting from Quezon City to FTI.

The DOTr is part of an inter-agency initiative called “Build, Build, Build” (BBB), which seeks to deliver big-ticket and high-impact infrastructure projects.

The government will allocate P8 trillion to increase infrastructure spending to 7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 5 percent within the term of President Duterte.

Source: Philippine News Agency