The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has awarded a $11.98-million contract to a joint venture of South Korean firm Dohwa Engineering Co. Ltd. and Japan’s Nippon Koei Co. Ltd. to prepare a master plan for the country’s railway system.
The contract covers a feasibility study for the Greater Capital Region Railways subject to approval by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and compliance with ADB loan procurement requirements.
The railway master plan will integrate major rail projects in Metro Manila, including the LRT, MRT, Metro Manila Subway, Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas Railway, MRT-4, and the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR).
The DOTr said it has already secured 90.76 percent of the right-of-way for the Metro Manila Subway as of December 2025. For the NSCR, 56 percent of the northern segment has been cleared and is ready for construction.
The Metro Manila Subway will run 33 kilometers with 17 stations, connecting Valenzuela City to FTI-Bicutan in Parañaque, with a spur line to NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay. It is expected to cut travel time between Quezon City and NAIA from over an hour to 35 minutes and serve up to 370,000 passengers daily.
The NSCR is a 148-kilometer railway with 37 stations across Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and Calabarzon. A flagship project under the government’s “Build Better More” program, it aims to serve more than 800,000 passengers daily once fully operational. The Clark-to-Valenzuela segment is targeted to begin operations by 2028.
