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All remaining contract packages of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) will be offered for bidding this year, according to Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista
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So far, the Department of Transportation has already awarded Contract Packages 102, 103, 104, and 107
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DOTr plans to start boring the tunnels for the subway on January 9
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The target is to complete the project by 2028 or earlier, depending on the pace of work, which will be reviewed after six months
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will invite bids this year for all remaining contract packages of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), according to Secretary Jaime Bautista.
Seven or eight contract packages will be offered for tender and awarded this year to ensure continuous operations of the project, Bautista told media in a recent DOTr gathering.
So far, DOTr has already awarded Contract Packages 102, 103, 104, and 107.
READ: DOTr awards 2 contracts for more subway stations
CP107, signed in December 2021, includes the design, supply, installation, construction, testing, and commissioning of 240 train cars for the subway project and was awarded to the joint venture of Japan Transport Engineering Co. and Sumitomo Corp.
CP104 covers the construction of the first two stations – Ortigas and Shaw Boulevard – which broke ground in October 2022. The package was awarded to the joint venture of Megawide Construction Corp., Tokyu Construction, and Tobishima Corp. for P20.46 billion in May 2022.
CP102 involves the construction of two underground stations, Quezon Avenue and East Avenue, and was awarded in November 2022 to the joint venture of Nishimatsu Construction Co., Ltd. and D.M. Consunji, Inc.
CP103 covers the construction of the Anonas and Camp Aguinaldo underground stations and tunneling works and was awarded to Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. Ltd.
Bautista said while there are challenges to the construction, the target is still to complete the project by 2028. But he said DOTr will have to review the progress of work after the first six months to see whether the target can be achieved or be finished earlier.
He said the contractors plan to start tunneling work on January 9. Two of the 25 tunnel boring machines (TBMs) to be used for the MMSP have already been delivered.
The MMSP will be the first underground mass transit system in the Philippines and will be a modern railway system that will be on par with those elsewhere in the world.
Funded by the Japanese government, the 33-kilometer subway line will have 17 stations from Valenzuela City to FTI-Bicutan in Parañaque City, with a spur line to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City.
Once fully operational, the subway can accommodate around 519,000 passengers daily and significantly reduce travel time between Quezon City to NAIA from 1.5 hours to 35 minutes. The MMSP will also interconnect with other rail systems in Metro Manila.
DOTr earlier said it targets partial operations to start in 2025, while the whole project is set to be completed in 2028.
Total project cost is pegged at P488.47 billion to be funded through a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Last February 10, the Philippines and Japan signed the JP¥253.3 billion (P112.9 billion) loan agreement for the second tranche of funding for the construction of the MMSP Phase 1. The first tranche of JP¥104.53 billion (about P47.58 billion or US$933.73 million) was signed in March 2018.
