The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has signed the design and build contract for the first three stations of the Metro Manila Subway, the Philippines’ first underground railway system project that is set to break ground on February 27.
DOTr and Japanese firm Shimizu Corp. on February 20 signed the contract that has been awarded to the joint venture of Shimizu, Fujita Corp., Takenaka Civil Engineering Co., Ltd., and EEI Corp.
The joint venture will be pursuing the design and build of the 36-kilometer subway’s partial operability section, which consists of the first three underground stations (Quirino Highway, Tandang Sora, and North Avenue), tunnel structures, the Valenzuela Depot, and the building and facilities for the Philippine Railway Institute.
The first phase of the Metro Manila subway will be constructed using cutting-edge Japanese tunneling technology and a JPY104.53 billion (about P49.11 billion or US$943.34 million) loan from Japan.
The first phase will stretch from Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) area in Taguig City, before continuing to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). The project, once completed, is expected to reduce travel time by 31 minutes and serve around 370,000 passengers daily in its initial year.
The Quezon City-Taguig subway will consist of 13 stations, with proposed stops on Mindanao Avenue, North Avenue, Quezon Avenue, East Avenue, Anonas Street, Katipunan Avenue, Ortigas North, Ortigas South, Kalayaan Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Cayetano Boulevard, FTI, and NAIA.
The subway project aims to ease traffic congestion, meet fast-rising transport demand, and reduce air pollution in the country’s premier urban center.
Partial operability of the subway with its first three stations is targeted for 2022, while full operations will be in 2025. In its first year of full operations alone, the seminal underground rail system is expected to serve up to 370,000 passengers per day, with a capacity to serve up to 1.5 million passengers daily.
Prior to the ground breaking, some Philippine government executives and Japanese officials went to Japan on February 19 to inspect the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) which are being considered for the construction of the Metro Manila Subway.
The TBMs are being manufactured by Hitachi Zosen in Sakai City, Japan. Hitachi Zosen’s Sakai Works (HZSW) factory has a track record of 1,300 tunneling machines produced and about 130 tunnels bored overseas so far.
