by Aerol John Pateña/PNA
MANILA — The launching of the Metro Manila Subway is set to be held by late February, an official of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Friday.
“February 27 is the date of the groundbreaking of Metro Manila Subway,” DOTr Assistant Secretary Goddess Hope Libiran said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
The proposed subway system envisioned to traverse from Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Parañaque City is seen to ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
Earlier, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the DOTr is eyeing the groundbreaking of the subway system within this month after several delays.
The project groundbreaking was initially scheduled last December but was later moved to January.
Tugade said the delays were mostly due to scheduling issues of the parties involved.
“Next Tuesday I will be going to Tokyo to inspect the boring machine and then I’ll fly to Osaka for a high-level meeting between the Philippines and the Japanese government,” Tugade said in an interview with reporters this week.
The Metro Manila Subway aims to have partial operations with three stations: North Avenue, Mindanao Avenue, and Tandang Sora by 2022 and have its full operations in 2025.
The Philippine and Japanese governments signed a loan agreement for the subway project with the initial tranche amounting to PHP51.37 billion (104.5 billion Japanese yen) in March last year.
The first phase of the 25-kilometer underground railway, which has an estimated cost of PHP356.96 billion, will have a total of 14 stations from Mindanao Avenue to NAIA.
The succeeding phases will involve extending the subway system to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan and Dasmariñas, Cavite.
