3 METRO MANILA SUBWAY SEGMENT DEALS TO BE AWARDED NEXT YEAR

Three construction packages of the 33-kilometer Metro Manila Subway project are set to be awarded next year, according to a Department of Transportation (DOTr) official.

DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Cesar Chavez told the Inquirer that contract packages (CP) 105, 109 and 109 would be up for signing within the second and third quarter of 2023.

CP 105 includes the construction of two underground stations, Kalayaan and BGC terminals and tunnel works.

CP 108 covers the building of Lawton and Senate-Department of Education stations as well as tunnel works.

CP 109, meanwhile, is for the construction of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 station and tunnel works.

Earlier this month, CP 102 and 103 of the underground railway system had been signed at Malacañang.

CP 102 involves the construction of Quezon Avenue and East Avenue stations. The joint venture of Nishimatsu Construction Co. Ltd. and D.M. Consunji Inc. won the contract.

CP 103, bagged by Sumitomo Mitsui Company Ltd., covers Anonas and Camp Aguinaldo stations.

In May, Megawide Construction Corp., Tokyu Construction Co., Ltd. and Tobishima Corp. secured the CP 104, which includes the construction of Ortigas and Shaw Boulevard stations.

A groundbreaking ceremony for CP 104 was held last month. This marked the start of construction for Ortigas and Shaw Boulevard stations of the underground railway. Meralco Avenue in Ortigas, Pasig will be closed until 2028 to make way for the civil works.

The Metro Manila subway, which is designed to have 17 stations, will connect Valenzuela City to Pasay City. It is expected to serve over 519,000 passengers daily once operational.

In June, the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) for the project had broken ground, thereby beginning the underground work. A total of 25 TBMs, which can dig up to 500 cubic meters of soil, will be used for the project.

“We now have majority of these contracts awarded with construction of several sections in full swing,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said earlier.