DOTr: Mega Manila Subway will be resilient to floods, earthquakes

The Mega Manila Subway will be resilient to floods and earthquakes, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Thursday, noting that it is working with the Japanese government and Japanese firms on the project.

"If you will notice, 'yung Japan po ay madalas na tinatamaan ng lindol. Araw-araw nga po yata ay nililindol doon at madalas din silang tinatamaan ng bagyo, pero po ang kanilang subway ay flood and earthquake resilient, so 'yung teknolohiya po na 'yon ay ating hihiramin para po masagawa sa ating bansa," Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Libiran said in an interview on GMA News' "News to Go."

Transport officials broke ground on the first segment of the Mega Manila Subway on Wednesday, February 27.

The underground rail system will be built with the support of the Government of Japan through an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan amounting to ¥104.530 billion (P51 billion) from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The contract for the first segment—covering the depot and the Philippine Railways Institute which will be the training facility for the operators—was bagged by Japanese-led consortium Shimizu Joint Venture.

The group is made up of Shimizu Corp., Fujita Corp., Takenaka Civil Engineering Co. Ltd., and EEI Corp.

"Nag-commit sila na ang ating subway at magiging earthquake- and flood- resilient," Libiran said, noting that technologies such as a "rising seawall" will be used in the project.

"Automatic po siyang tumataas para maging harang at hindi makapasok 'yung tubig baha," she explained.

The partial operability of the subway which includes its first three stations is targeted for 2022, while full operations of all 15 stations is set for 2025.

"'Yun pong traffic management plan ay maigi po naming binubusisi 'yan at very much coordinated po ito sa MMDA, ganon din po sa local government unit concerned," said Libiran.

"Ang kagandahan po dito... Magkakaroon lang po ng inconvenience doon sa mga location kung saan itatayo 'yung stations, pero po doon sa alignment niya, dahil nga po nasa ilalim siya ng lupa, ay hindi naman ganon 'yung inconvenience na mararamdaman," she elaborated.

The underground rail line is set to have 15 stations:

• Quirino Highway
• Tandang Sora
• North Avenue
• Quezon Avenue
• East Avenue
• Anonas
• Katipunan
• Ortigas North
• Ortigas South
• Kalayaan Avenue
• Bonifacio Global City
• Lawton East
• Lawton West
• FTI (Food Terminal Inc.)
• Bicutan

It will also have an optional extension from Lawton West station to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). — BM, GMA News