-
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the groundbreaking on September 16 for the Metro Manila Subway Project’s 2.413-kilometer segment linking Taguig and Pasay
-
The package includes an underground NAIA Terminal 3 station beneath the airport’s open parking lot
-
Construction is targeted to start in October 2026
-
The tunnel portion is 51% complete, while right-of-way for the station area has been fully secured
-
A key engineering challenge is the underpinning of existing NAIA Expressway piers, in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways and SMC-NAIAx Corp.
-
The P488.48-billion project will cut travel time between Valenzuela City and NAIA Terminal 3 to about 41 minutes
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the groundbreaking on September 16, 2026, for the Metro Manila Subway Project’s (MMSP) segment covering the 2.413 kilometer stretch between Taguig and Pasay.
“Last February, we gathered to break ground on the Kalayaan Avenue and Bonifacio Global City stations of the Metro Manila Subway,” Marcos said in his speech at the ceremony held at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City.
“Seven months later, we are here to move another section of this project forward as we break ground on the NAIA Terminal 3 Station and its connecting tunnels under Contract Package 109 (CP109),” he said. “From Quezon City to Taguig and now toward our international airport, the Metro Manila Subway is steadily taking shape.”
READ: Marcos leads groundbreaking for 2 Metro Manila Subway stations
The P488.48-billion subway project, financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is designed to cut travel time between Valenzuela City and NAIA Terminal 3 from currently more than 1 hour and 30 minutes to 41 minutes.
“Our people need a public transport system that gives them a real alternative, one that is efficient, dependable, and connected to the places where we live, study, work, and travel,” Marcos said.
“Our investors and tourists need to know that they can rely upon a transport system that can bring them to where they need to be and want to be in the most efficient manner that is possible,” he added.
The NAIA Terminal 3 station will have a gross floor area of 19,179.50 square meters.
Construction will use a tunnel boring machine for the underground railway and cut-and-cover methods for the station.
A major engineering component of the package is the underpinning of existing NAIA Expressway piers, to be undertaken in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways-Public-Private Partnership and SMC-NAIAx Corp.
Right-of-way for the station area has been fully secured, while the tunnel area is 51% complete.
The package progressed from bid publication in 2023 to the issuance of a Notice of Award in March 2026, followed by contract signing in May 2026. Actual construction is targeted to begin in October.
The NAIA Terminal 3 station is expected to serve about 70,000 passengers daily by 2035, with capacity projected to reach 74,000 by 2045.
The entire MMSP spans 33.103 kilometers and is designed to operate 30 eight-car trainsets at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour.
Full completion of the subway system is targeted for the third quarter of 2031.
READ: DOTr gains ground on ROW for 2 rail projects
