The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Tuesday the third tunnel boring machine (TBM) was deployed at the Camp Aguinaldo Station to speed up the construction of the P488.5-billion Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP).
The launch aligns with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to fast-track the completion of MMSP for the immediate benefit of commuters, it said.
DOTr acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez said that with a pacing of nine-meter tunneling works daily, the machine is expected to reach Anonas Station in six months, with a parallel TBM to be launched in the next two months.
“Additional tunnel boring machines mean less time for us to complete the projects. The subway will continue and the DOTr will not stop the projects,” said Lopez.
“The President said we need to speed up our projects because mass transit is really the key to solving the problems of commuters,” he said.
Under MMSP Contract Package 103, the third TBM starts tunneling this October from Camp Aguinaldo to Anonas Stations.
Over one thousand meters have already been excavated by two TBMs from Camp Aguinaldo to Ortigas Stations. The fourth TBM for the Camp Aguinaldo station is already being assembled, while the whole MMSP line now has eight TBMs.
The 33-kilometer, 17-station subway will run from Valenzuela City to Paranaque City, ending at Bicutan Station in Taguig City with a spur line at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City.
Once completed, travel time will be reduced from one hour and 38 minutes to just 45 minutes from Valenzuela to Pasay, with an expected ridership of 519,000 passengers daily once in full operations in 2032.
The MMSP is also interoperable with the North South Commuter Railway (NSCR) through FTI and Bicutan Stations, which means passengers can travel from Valenzuela all the way to Calamba without alighting the train.
