THE government is on track in building the country’s first subway system, and it is, according to the contractor for the tunnel-boring component of the deal, even ahead of schedule.
Shimizu Corp. Director Monichiro Tsuchiya said his group is finishing the assembly of a boring machine in Yokohama, Japan, where government officials will be inspecting it before it is delivered to the Philippines sometime in June.
“We are accelerating one month from July to June to assemble a boring machine,” he said. “We are on schedule.”
A total of six tunnel boring machines were ordered by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to jump-start the construction of the so-called project of the century, which aims to provide better mobility and connectivity between the capital’s main financial hubs and airport.
“The boring machine is manufactured for specific designs and it is designed based on the soil and earth,” Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said. “When they come and put it in June or July or August or September, the boring will start.”
“We are on schedule on the partial operability,” he added, referring to a 2022 opening of some portions of the subway system. Full completion is set for 2025.
Already, spare parts for the boring machines have arrived in the Philippines. These will be used to reassemble the whole machine once it arrives in Manila.
Funded by an official development assistance package from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the Metro Manila Subway System is envisioned to be a 25-kilometer underground mass transportation system that connects major business districts and government centers between Quezon City and Pasay.
It is expected to serve around 370,000 passengers per day in its opening year.
“This project is really progressing very fast,” Jica Philippines Senior Representative Kiyo Kawabuchi said.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes