DOTr inks deal for Metro Manila subway’s first 3 stations

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has signed the contract for the construction of the first three stations of the P227-billion Metro Manila subway project.

Set to break ground on Wednesday, the 36-kilometer subway with 15 stations is envisioned to be one of the most expansive transit networks in the metropolis.

Japan-based Shimizu-Fujita-Takenaka Civil Engineering Co. will build the subway’s first three stations — Quirino Highway, Tandang Sora and North Avenue — along with tunnel structures, the depot in Valenzuela City and facilities for the Philippine Railway Institute.

In a statement on Sunday, the DOTr said it was targeting partial operability by 2022, while full operations would be in 2025.

Around 370,000 passengers are expected to benefit from the subway daily in its first year of full operations.

“Next week, our countrymen will finally see that the dream of a railway system running underground in this country is soon becoming a reality,” Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade said.

The multibillion project is partially funded by a P51-billion loan grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.