Beneath the open parking lot of NAIA Terminal 3, work has formally begun on one of the capital’s most significant transit undertakings. President Marcos led the groundbreaking rites yesterday for a new underground station that will anchor a 2.413-kilometer stretch of railway connecting Pasay and Taguig, part of the wider Metro Manila Subway now taking shape across the metropolis.
Addressing those gathered, Marcos pressed the contractors handling the works to deliver the project within schedule. He reported considerable momentum on the larger effort. “The whole Metro Manila Subway project has achieved nearly 60 percent overall progress, with construction activities underway across much of its alignment,” he said.
The President attributed part of that pace to the resolution of land access issues. According to him, the entirety of the right-of-way needed around the stations has been obtained, clearing the way for building to continue. He also pointed to the engineering approach being applied, drawing on precedent abroad. “Proven in Japan, this method will help ensure that construction can proceed safely beneath existing infrastructure while also maintaining structural integrity,” Marcos said.
The NAIA Terminal 3 station itself, spanning a gross floor area of 19,179.50 square meters, ranks among the defining features of what will be the Philippines’ first subterranean rail line. Projections place its daily ridership at roughly 70,000 passengers by 2035, climbing to an estimated 74,000 by 2045.
Bankrolled by the Japan International Cooperation Agency at an approved cost of P488.48 billion, the full 33.103-kilometer line is intended to cut the trip between Valenzuela City and NAIA Terminal 3 to 41 minutes, down from the hour and a half or more it currently demands. Seventeen stations are planned along the route.
Standing with Marcos during the ceremony were Sen. JV Ejercito, Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez, Pasay Rep. Antonino Calixto, and Mayor Imelda Calixto-Rubiano. The event also drew Ramon Ang of New NAIA Infra Corp., Japanese embassy chargé d’affaires ad interim Ono Sho, JICA chief representative Takashi Baba, and Taisei Corp. managing executive officer Tatsuya Sugawara.
Once operational, the network is designed to run 30 eight-car train sets reaching speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour, with the entire system slated for completion in the third quarter of 2031.
