Whether or not you support the project or not, the Metro Manila Subway is happening.
According to a recent statement by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), tunneling work for the project has already started—a development that the agency calls the subway’s “point of no return.”
“Today’s start of tunneling work signifies the point of no return. We are going full speed ahead to complete the country’s first subway,” DOTr head Jaime Bautista said, adding that there is an “urgent need” for the project following the holiday travel rush Metro Manila’s airports experienced recently.
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Just how big of an undertaking is the Metro Manila Subway’s tunneling phase? A total of six tunnel-boring machines (TBM) will help excavate more than 7.4 million cubic meters of soil during the subway’s construction. That’s the equivalent of around 2,500 Olympic-size swimming pools, the DOTr said.
The Metro Manila Subway will span a total of 33km and feature 17 stations and has been dubbed the “crown jewel” of the government’s infrastructure push. It will supposedly reduce travel times from Quezon City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and vice versa, running at an operational speed of 80kph. Total project budget? A whopping P488.47 billion.
Partial operations are expected to start in 2025, with the project’s full completion scheduled for 2028. Are you excited to use this?
