Construction works for the Metro Manila Subway Project’s (MMSP) Taguig City segments have commenced on Friday as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. broke ground two underground stations and tunnels in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and Brgy. Fort Bonifacio.
President Marcos stressed that the subway’s BGC stations will serve 200,000 passengers daily in its opening year. The Metro Manila Subway’s Kalayaan Avenue Station is located beneath BGC’s 11th Avenue and Uptown Open Parking, while the BGC Station is located along McKinley Parkway, between Serendra and Market! Market!.
“This means workers arriving on time, students getting home earlier, and our citizens regaining hours that we once lost to congestion,” the President noted.
The Metro Manila Subway’s Contract Package 105 (CP 105) is a Civil Works-Build Only Contract for Kalayaan Avenue and BGC underground stations and tunnels in Brgy. Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City with a total route length of 1.331 kilometers, making Taguig’s central business district more accessible to commuters.
Prior to the BGC-Kalayaan groundbreaking ceremony, the President also inspected the subway’s Shaw Boulevard Station in Pasig, which is under Contract Package 104 (CP 104) of the MMSP.
Transportation Secretary Banoy Lopez said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is fast-tracking the construction of the subway to provide commuters with safe and convenient public transport.
“Tulad ng sabi ng ating Pangulo, una [ang mga benepisyo], it cuts travel time. Kapag mas maiksi ang biyahe, simple lang ang ibig sabihin, sabi ng Pangulo mas maraming oras sa pamilya, sa anak at sa kaibigan at sa sarili na rin,” Secretary Lopez said.
For his part, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya expressed the Japanese government’s continued support in overseeing the progress and completion of the project to create a more efficient public transportation system in the country.
“Metro Manila continues to face serious challenges related to traffic congestion and air pollution, and the construction of this subway is a vital step toward addressing these issues. This project will form the backbone of a more efficient public transportation system and help realize a more comfortable, sustainable and livable urban environment,” Ambassador Kazuya said.
Funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the entire 33.1-kilometer subway runs from Valenzuela City to Parañaque City, ending in Bicutan, Taguig and with a spur line to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City.
Apart from a capacity of 2,242 passengers per train set and over 500,000 passengers daily, the subway will also reduce travel time from Quezon City to NAIA from one hour and 10 minutes to just 35 minutes once fully operational.
