Subway project 55% cleared for ROW – DOTr

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is facing challenges in acquiring the right of way (ROW) for the subway, delaying the award for the remaining contract packages (CP) of the project.

In a visit to the subway site, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the DOTr has cleared more than half of the ROW for the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP).

However, Bautista said the DOTr is facing challenges in acquiring the remaining ROW, forcing the agency to delay the award of CPs 105, 108 and 109 of the MMSP.

Instead of awarding the deals in the first quarter, the DOTr was left with no choice but to move the issuance in the third quarter. Bautista said the agency has to procure the ROW for these CPs first before their contractors are named.

Without the proper ROW, contractors have to slow down the civil works in the portions assigned to them. In the end, Bautista said the government loses from such a scenario, piling up expenses from the delays and raising the cost of the project.

In spite of this, Transportation Undersecretary Jeremy Regino said the government is committed to partially operating the subway by 2027 and opening the entire line by 2029.

Regino said the DOTr is processing the documentary requirements for the acquisition of the remaining ROW, including appraisal of properties and parcillary surveys.

He noted that even with these challenges, the DOTr is making progress in the MMSP, with 11 percent of the railway completed to date.

By the third quarter of 2024, the DOTr hopes to award the remaining CPs to their contractors to kick off the construction of the southern segment as soon as possible. CP 105 covers the stations connecting Kalayaan in Makati City with Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.

COP 108 comprises the Lawton to Senate tranche of the subway. Meanwhile, CP 109 consists of the final stations and the spur line leading to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The MMSP is estimated to cost P488.48 billion, bankrolled largely by a series of concessionary loans from Japan.

As the first underground rail system in the Philippines, the MMSP will span about 33 kilometers across seven cities in Metro Manila, reducing the travel time between Valenzuela City and Pasay City to 35 minutes.