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Helen Flores - The Philippine Star
February 14, 2026 | 12:00am
President Marcos is joined by acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez and Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya during a sake barrel-breaking ceremony and groundbreaking of the Metro Manila Subway Project’s Kalayaan and Bonifacio Global City stations at Uptown BGC in Taguig City yesterday. The President also led the inspection of ongoing work on the subway project’s Shaw Boulevard station (inset).
Noel Pabalate
MANILA, Philippines — The construction of the 33.1-kilometer Metro Manila subway project (MMSP) is moving quickly, President Marcos said yesterday, underscoring the administration’s sustained investments in rail and other transportation infrastructure.
Marcos, with Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez and Japanese Ambassador Kazuya Endo, inspected the ongoing construction of the Shaw Boulevard Station in Pasig City, and led the groundbreaking of the Kalayaan Avenue and Bonifacio Global City (BGC) stations in Taguig City.
“I’m happy to report that the progress is proceeding and the work is proceeding, and we are very much on schedule,” the President said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
“In fact, we are – from the original – from the original timetable, we have accelerated the process and we are moving even more quickly than that,” Marcos said.
The BGC stations are projected to serve more than 200,000 passengers daily during their opening year, he said.
“This means workers arriving on time, students getting home earlier and our citizens regaining hours that we once lost to congestion,” Marcos said.
President Marcos leads the inspection of the Shaw Boulevard Station of the Metro Manila Subway Project with Department of Transportation officials yesterday.
The President cited the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and Megaworld Corp for granting the Department of Transportation a perpetual easement of right-of-way for the construction of the stations.
“Because this means that this project begins construction with 100 percent of the required right-of-way already secured,” he said.
Marcos noted that the issue of right-of-way is the hardest part of the project.
Once the entire stretch of the Metro Manila subway system is fully operational, the travel time from Valenzuela to BGC will be reduced from one and a half hours to just 29 minutes.
Under Contract Package 104, the Shaw Boulevard Station segment is being implemented by the Tokyu-Tobishima-Megawide Joint Venture, with a contract cost of P18.27 billion.
The package covers the construction of 3.40 kilometers of subway tunnels and two underground stations: Ortigas Avenue Station and Shaw Boulevard Station in Pasig City.
Based on latest data, demolition works at Ortigas Avenue Station are 88.15 percent complete, while excavation works at Shaw Boulevard Station have reached 40.77 percent.
The segment is targeted for completion by November 2031.
Phase 1 of the subway project involves the construction of a 33.10-kilometer underground railway system that will cut travel time between Quezon City to the Manila airport from more than one hour and 10 minutes to just 35 minutes. It will operate 30 eight-car train sets, each capable of carrying up to 2,228 passengers.
A demonstration run is targeted by 2028. Funded through a loan agreement between the Philippine government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the project is expected for completion by the year 2032, according to earlier reports. — Ghio Ong
