MANILA, Philippines — As the Duterte administration comes to a close, the long-delayed tunneling works for the Metro Manila Subway project are finally set to start after the first Tunnel Boring Machine was lowered and positioned at the subway’s depot in Valenzuela City.
The Metro Manila Subway, which would be country's first-ever underground railway system, is a 33-kilometer underground rail line stretching from Valenzuela City to NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City. The rail line is designed to reduce travel time between Quezon City and Metro's main airport to just 35 minutes from the present one hour and 10 minutes .
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According to the Department of Transportation, should the schedule set for the construction of the Metro Manila Subway Project be strictly followed, its partial operability may be expected to start in 2025, with its full operation slated in 2027.
In a statement sent to reporters, Transportation Secretary Tugade said that the lowering is "proof that the project...is now becoming a reality."
The Metro Manila Subway Project will have a total of 25 tunnel boring machines to dig underground tunnels that will connect the subway’s 17 stations from Valenzuela City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
In arguing that the project will continue after the term of President Rodrigo Duterte, Tugade pointed to the project's financing from the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the contracts awarded, and the resolution of the project's right-of-way issues.
"The funds needed for this project are already there. There is the fund arrangement and loan support of the government of Japan with the help of JICA," Secretary Tugade said.
"The contracts that are affiliated to form this Metro Manila Subway Project, if they are not finished, are already being started. If they are not finished and are already being started, they are already being contracted. That means they are already in place."
In its first year of full operations, the underground railway system is expected to accommodate up to 370,000 passengers per day, with a capacity of up to one million passengers per day over the next decades.
"The so-called right-of-way where many projects during the previous administration were delayed and delayed due to right-of-way. Here in this project, more than 90% of the right-of-way is done," Tugade also said.