Metro Manila Subway eyes 'full operations' by 2029

The first underground railway system in the Philippines, the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), is expected to operate fully in 2029, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

In a statement released Tuesday, the DOTr said that the project is now at 14% physical progress.

The 33-kilometer underground railway system will cover eight local government units in Metro Manila and pass through three central business districts. 

It also has 8-car trainsets that can carry up to 2,200 passengers per train, running as fast as 80 km/h, and trains arriving at stations every 5 minutes.

“MMSP is an expansive system that will be interconnected with LRT-1, MRT-3, and MRT-7 at the Common Station, LRT-2 at Anonas Station, and a physical run through into the NSCR-EX at FTI and Bicutan Stations,” it said. 

DOTr added that passengers can board a subway train at North Avenue Station and get off almost 100 kilometers away at the NSCR-EX's Calamba Station without changing trains.

The Subway also features a spur line to NAIA at T3 Station, which makes the airport reachable from Quezon City in just 40 minutes. 

MMSP is the first underground railway system in the Philippines and a flagship project under the Marcos Administration's “Build Better, More” Program. 

The project currently has an estimated total cost of P488.5 billion, of which P370.7 billion will be financed through an official development assistance (ODA) loan from JICA. Meanwhile, P117.7 billion will be covered by the Philippine government.

The Philippine government and JICA have signed two tranches of loan agreements so far—the first tranche, amounting to ¥104.53 billion, or P47.58 billion, was signed in March 2018, while the second tranche, amounting to ¥253.31 billion, or P112.87 billion, was inked in February 2022.

The Philippines and Japan signed the ¥150-billion third tranche loan deal for the project last March. —Sherylin Untalan/ VAL, GMA Integrated News