MANILA — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is eyeing the groundbreaking of the Metro Manila Subway in December, an official said Wednesday.
“Yung ating pag-procure ng contractor para sa partial operability section ng three stations, kasama na yung depot at Philippine Railway Institute, yan ay nakatakdang i-award ngayong Nobyembre. Kaya inilalatag na natin ang groundbreaking as soon as mobilized natin angcontractor (The procurement of the contractor for the partial operability section of three stations, with the depot and Philippine Railway Institute, is set to be awarded in November. That is why the groundbreaking will be set as soon as we mobilize the contractor),” DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said in a press briefing.
The Metro Manila Subway aims to have partial operations with three stations: North Ave., Mindanao Ave., and Tandang Sora by 2022.
Its construction is slated to start next year and full operations in 2025.
Last March, the Philippine and Japanese governments signed a loan agreement for the subway project with the initial tranche amounting to 104.53 billion yen or roughly PHP49.45 billion.
The first phase of the 25-km. underground railway, which has an estimated cost of PHP356.96 billion, will have a total of 14 stations from Mindanao Ave. in Quezon City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Parañaque City.
The succeeding phases will involve extending the subway system to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan and Dasmariñas, Cavite. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)
