Metro Manila subway project marks first tunnel boring breakthrough

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos on Wednesday called the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) breakthrough of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) at Quezon Avenue station an important milestone in the construction of the country’s first-ever underground railway system.

Marcos inspected the site of the Quezon Avenue station, where excavation has been completed up to the southbound portion of North Avenue station—a distance of about 1.1 kilometers (km) and 34 meters below ground.

A breakthrough refers to the process in which a TBM breaks thorough the final wall after completing the tunnel excavation process.

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Tunnel boring operations are currently continuing from Quezon Avenue station toward East Avenue station. The two are 1.5 km apart.

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“Little by little, we can see that our subway project is gradually taking shape. We can see it coming together,” the President told reporters.

“Once this is completed, the people living here will be very fortunate because they will have a subway, they will have the MRT (Metro Rail Transit). They will have many ways to get around the metro,” he said.

The two underground stations and their connecting tunnels are part of MMSP’s Contract Package 102, awarded to the joint venture of Japanese firm Nishimatsu Construction Co. Ltd. and local construction company D.M. Consunji Inc. in 2022.

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Construction of the Quezon Avenue and East Avenue stations began on May 10, 2023.

President Marcos last week led the groundbreaking ceremony of the MMSP’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 station in Pasay City, where he said the subway project was 60 percent complete.

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The P488.48-billion MMSP, financed through loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, is part of ongoing efforts to modernize the country’s railway system and improve connectivity across Metro Manila.

Faster travel

The government aims to complete construction of the 33-km, 17-station underground railway system by the last quarter of 2031.

The subway will stretch from East Valenzuela to Bicutan in Taguig City, providing a faster and more reliable mass transportation option across Metro Manila.

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Once fully operational, the MMSP is expected to reduce travel time from Valenzuela City to Naia from about 1.5 hours to 41 minutes. /cb