PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday led the inspection of the Camp Aguinaldo Station of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), the country’s first underground railway line spanning 33 kilometers across six cities in Metro Manila.
Marcos said he expects the MMSP could at least be partially operational before he leaves office in 2028.
“This is a big project that we are doing under the Department of Transportation for our commuters. I hope we can finish this phase until Valenzuela by 2028. Maybe we can inaugurate this by 2028. Let’s see,” he said in Filipino following his inspection of the rail’s southbound line.
“Let’s just see. Everyone agrees that it is necessary to speed it up well and hard because our commuters want their commute to be more convenient. I urge everyone to keep going, and we look forward to the day when we can say that we took the subway in the Philippines, that we have taken the tube to go to work,” he added.
The MMSP will run from Valenzuela City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City. It will have 17 stations and one depot.
Travel between those cities currently takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes, but the subway will reduce the time to just 40 minutes, Marcos said.
He also pointed out the collaboration between Filipino engineers and their Japanese counterparts, which he said is “impressive.”
The president commended the precise and orderly excavation work of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), hailing the Japanese engineers for their impressive work and their global reputation for excellence in heavy engineering and construction.
“I think we have picked the right partner, and I am very happy to see the progress that’s being made,” he said.
Contract Package 103 (CP103) includes two stations — Anonas Station and Camp Aguinaldo Station — and three inter-station tunnels connecting East Avenue Station to Anonas, Anonas to Camp Aguinaldo, and Camp Aguinaldo to Ortigas Avenue Station.
The total route length covered by this package is approximately 6.35 km, according to Malacañang.