DOTr awards P17.75B contract for 2 stations of Metro Manila Subway to Japanese-Filipino joint venture

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday awarded a multibillion-peso contract for a portion of the Metro Manila Subway Project to a joint venture of Tokyu Construction, Tobishima Corporation, and Megawide Construction Corp.

The DOTr awarded to the Tokyu-Tobishima-Megawide joint venture the Contract Package 104 (CP104) of the Metro Manila Subway at a contract signing held in Mandaluyong City and televised on the agency’s Facebook page.

The said contract package involves the construction of two underground stations of the subway project, namely the Ortigas North and South, as well as the tunnels connecting the stations.

The aggregate amount of the contract estimated at P17.75 billion is split into two currencies - P13,261,303,173.01 and JP¥11,227,496,171.00 or approximately P4.49 billion using the exchange rate as of May 4, 2022.

In a statement, Megawide said the contract will facilitate the company’s diversification into rail systems, which will include underground technology.

“As the joint venture’s Filipino partner, we are honored for the opportunity to once again participate in our country’s infrastructure development. We thank the government for giving priority to this project which will be a gamechanger for the metro’s mass public transportation,” said Edgar Saavedra, Megawide chairman and CEO. 

“Megawide and our partners Tokyu and Tobishima represent expertise, innovation and commitment in our respective fields and nations, which we believe will be critical to the success of this pioneering venture,” added Saavedra.

Tokyu Construction Co. Ltd. is one of the established Japanese general contractors engaged in commercial, institutional, and residential buildings as well as civil engineering works for dams, bridges, and transportation systems, according to Megawide.

It led the redevelopment of the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line Shibuya Station located at the center of Shibuya, a key district in Tokyo, the company said.

On the other hand, Tobishima Corporation is one of Japan’s leading general contractors, involved in large-scale civil engineering works for hydro-electric power plants, dams, and railroads, with onshore and offshore projects located in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Myanmar, among others, it added.

Hailed as the “Project of the Century,” the Metro Manila Subway will be the first underground mass transit system in the Philippines – a modern railway system that will be at par with the rest in the world.

Funded by the Japanese government, the subway is a 33-kilometer rail line that will stretch from Valenzuela City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City, reducing travel time between Quezon City and NAIA from one hour and 10 minutes to just 35 minutes.

Once operational, the Metro Manila Subway can accommodate up to 370,000 passengers per day in its first year of operations.—AOL, GMA News