By Aerol John Pateña/PNA
MANILA — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has signed a deal with a private contractor for the design and build contract for the first three stations of the Metro Manila Subway System.
The subway system, which will have its groundbreaking on Wednesday, is expected to start its partial operations in 2022 with three stations: Quirino Highway, Tandang Sora and Mindanao Avenue.
The DOTr signed the contract with the joint venture of Shimizu Corporation, Fujita Corporation, Takenaka Civil Engineering Co., Ltd., and EEI Corporation last February 20.
“The Shimizu Joint Venture will be pursuing the design and build of the Subway’s partial operability section, which consists of its 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 DOTr said in a statement over the weekend.
The Metro Manila Subway will have 15 stations from Quirino Highway in Quezon City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Parañaque City, which is seen to ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
The underground rail system is expected to serve up to 370,000 passengers per day, with a capacity of serving up to 1.5 million passengers per day once it starts its full operations in 2025.
“Our countrymen will finally see that the dream of a railway system running underground in this country is soon becoming a reality. Of course there will be some inconvenience along the way, but that is nothing compared to the long-lasting comfort this project will bring to the Filipino people,” DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said.
Tugade and other officials were in Osaka, Japan last week to inspect tunnel boring machines that will be used for the construction of the Metro Manila Subway.
The Philippine and Japanese governments signed a loan agreement for the subway project, with an initial tranche amounting to PHP51.37 billion (104.5 billion Japanese yen), in March last year.
