THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) is set to start the drilling works for the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) within the Corinthian Gardens alignment by January 2026 as its right-of-way (RoW) acquisition for the project continues to progress.
This came after residents and homeowners of Corinthian Gardens have accepted compensation amounting to a combined P420.08 million for the property that will be affected by the construction of the subway, the Transportation department said on Tuesday.
Within the Corinthian Gardens, the subway project covers about 500 meters and will affect a total of 33 properties, DoTr said, noting that as of Sept. 30, it has issued a total of 32 compensation offers at P820.56 million to affected property owners.
Of these, only 20 owners have accepted the offers, the Transportation department said, adding that negotiations for the remaining property owners are still ongoing.
Further, the DoTr is targeting full acquisition of RoW requirements for the MMSP by March of 2026, as the current RoW status stands at 75%.
Acting Secretary Giovanni Z. Lopez previously said that the agency has set a target RoW acquisition of about 95% by the end of the year.
The DoTr is hoping to award the last three remaining packages of the Metro Manila Subway project around October or November.
The last three remaining contract packages (CP) are 105, 108, 109. The packages cover the construction of the station in Kalayaan Avenue and Bonifacio Global City, Lawton and Senate-DepEd stations, and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 station, respectively.
The remaining contract packages are valued at between P10 billion and P15 billion.
In July, the DoTr said that it is pushing for partial operations of the subway line, though the entire line is expected to be completed by 2032.
The subway, which will be 33 kilometers long with 17 stations, seeks to cut travel time between Quezon City and NAIA to 35 minutes from over an hour currently. It is expected to accommodate up to 370,000 passengers daily. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
