Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Japanese Ambassador to Manila Koshikawa Kazuhiko yesterday signed the second tranche of the 253. 307- billion yen ($2.3 billion) loan for the Metro Manila Subway Phase 1 project.
The 27-kilometer long subway project will be the country’s first completely underground railway system and is one of the flagship programs of the Build, Build, Build infrastructure program of the government .
The first phase of the subway, which started construction in 2019, connects north and south of Manila and will run from Mindanao avenue in Valenzuela City, pass through FTI in Taguig City and end at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Paranaque City.
Locsin said this will decongest traffic and connect major business centers in Metro Manila.
The Japanese embassy in a statement said the second tranche of the loan will provide funding for the expansion of the original planning line to include two more stations (17 stations in total), a spur line to NAIA and rail tracks that will be used by the North-South Commuter Train.
“Japan’s assistance, through a variety of ODA (official development assistance) support, will provide the Philippine government funds to build this quality infrastructure utilizing Japanese state-of-the-art technologies and expertise from years of railway experience in its design, construction and operation stages,” the embassy said.
Japan is the Philippines’ top ODA partner, with its long history of support for Philippine development priorities spanning infrastructure, health, human resources, agriculture, education, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, among many others.
