Construction of the P350 billion Metro Manila subway project will start before 2018 ends, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said on Wednesday.
Tugade said the project remains on track, with the groundbreaking ceremony and formal construction scheduled “by the end of this year, not later than December.”
According to Tugade, partial operation of the subway with stations in North Avenue, Mindanao Avanue and Tandang Sora will start before President Rodrigo Duterte ends his term ends in 2022.
“Uumpisahan natin iyong construction doon sa partial operability sa tatlong istasyon, saan ito – North Avenue, Mindanao Avenue, Tandang Sora,” he said at a press briefing in Malacañang.
“Kasama na rin ho dito iyong pagpapatayo ng tinatawag na Railway Institute at depot sa Valenzuela. Lahat ho ito ay planong umpisahan not later than December of the last quarter of this year,” Tugade added.
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Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is currently in talks with representatives from Shimizu Corp., one of Japan’s largest construction companies, for the construction of the 25-kilometer long subway system.
Proposed subway stations would be located at Mindanao Avenue, Tandang Sora, North Avenue, Quezon Avenue, East Avenue, Anonas, Katipunan, Ortigas North, Ortigas South, Kalayaan Avenue, Bonifacio Globe City, Cayetano Boulevard and the Food Terminal Inc. complex in Taguig City.
Full completion of the project is expected by 2025. The project is expected to address the worsening road congestion in Metro Manila the DOTr said. /muf