The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has deployed a third tunnel boring machine (TBM) at the Camp Aguinaldo Station to accelerate the construction of the ₱488.5-billion Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to fast-track mass transit development.
Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the TBM, operating at a pace of nine meters a day, is expected to reach the Anonas Station in six months. A fourth TBM is currently being assembled and is set to launch within two months.
“Additional tunnel boring machines mean less time for us to complete the projects,” Lopez said. “The President said we need to speed up our projects because mass transit is really the key to solving the problems of commuters.”
The new TBM begins tunneling this October under Contract Package 103, covering the Camp Aguinaldo–Anonas stretch. Two other TBMs have already excavated over 1,000 meters from Camp Aguinaldo toward Ortigas Station. The MMSP now utilizes a total of eight TBMs across various segments.
Once completed, the 33-kilometer, 17-station subway will connect Valenzuela City to Bicutan in Taguig, with a spur to NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay. Integrated with the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), the MMSP will allow seamless travel from Valenzuela to Calamba.
Travel time between Valenzuela and Pasay is expected to drop from 1 hour and 38 minutes to just 45 minutes, serving an estimated 519,000 passengers daily when fully operational by 2032.
