Manila--The country's first ever underground railway system
known as the Metro Manila Subway, a Filipino-Japan Php8 trillion consortium
project has finally inaugurated during its groundbreaking ceremony on
Wednesday.
The ceremony led by Department of Transportation(DOTr) Sec.
Arthur Tugade and Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian, presented by other
government officials set the ground of the multi-billion project and made an
awarding of entitlements to affected families in Ugong, Valenzuela City.
The project will be an expansive 36-km railway system from
Valenzuela on the capital's northern end and Quirino Highway in Quezon City to
the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), wherein will have a speed of up
to 80km per hour, with a travel time as short as 30 minutes, the DOTr said.
Tugade further said the government hoped to reach the
portion of the subway wherein the first 3 stations in Valenzuela, Tandang Sora
and North Avenue will open before Duterte's term ends in 2022.
"Inaugurating and groundbreaking is one thing,
finishing it is another. We will finish this in 2022. Sabi nga sa Ingles, I
will be watching you... This is what we want to achieve. Sa mga nagdududa,
maniwala kayo," he said.
Likewise, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea also said
the Duterte government would finish the subway project "as fast as we can,
as well as we can and without any whiff of corruption."
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that with the
targeting partial operability by 2022, where President Duterte's term will end,
the palace hoped that the next administration will continue the 'project of the
century'.
Credit Image: https://www.manilalivewire.com/2016/07/duterte-administration-eyeing-to-build-subway-train-system-as-one-solution-to-metro-traffic/
“With this foundation, we request succeeding administrations
to exert the same effort until the railway system is fully completed,” Panelo
said in a statement.
“The Metro Manila Subway has been dubbed as the project of
the century as it is considered a major transformational project in mass
transport in the country,” he added.
The railway system will have 15 stations from Quirino
Highway in Quezon City to NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay and FTI in Taguig.
The phase 1 of the Metro Manila Subway Project features the
Depot and the Philippine Railway Institute which will be built in Ugong,
Valenzuela City and the first three stations consist of the Quirino Highway -
Mindanao Ave. Station, Tandang Sora Station and North Ave. Station.
The government promises that all the 15 stations will be
fully operational in 2025.
Tugade cited that the subway spans 7 cities and municipalities
and 3 business districts. A joint venture including Shimizu Corp, Fujita Corp
and Takenaka Civil Engineering Co of Japan and EEI Corp from the Philippines
was tapped to design and build the first 3 stations.
"The Metro Manila Subway will leverage on Japanese
technology to make the structure flood and earthquake-proof," he said.
In line with this, Transportation Undersecretary for
railways Timothy Batan said the subway will connect to the MRT-3, the LRT-2 and
the Philippine National Railway lines.
The bigtime project was amongst President Duterte’s “Build,
Build, Build” Program, which will be built with the support of the Government
of Japan through an Official Development Assistance Loan from the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The event was also graced by Exec. Secretary Salvador
Medialdea, Sec. Benjamin Diokno of the Dept. of Budget and Management, NEDA
Sec. Ernesto Pernia, DPWH Sec. Mark Villar, Senator JV Ejercito, Japanese
Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda, MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim, QC Mayor
Herbert Bautista, Cong. Cesar Sarmiento.
