Mega Manila Subway project study up for completion

Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa said the feasibility study covering a stretch of the proposed Mega Manila Subway was expected to be completed in the latter half of the year.

Ishikawa said on Friday the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) would finish the study on the central section of the subway in July.

The subway was one of the major infrastructure projects proposed by the Japanese government to help ease congestion in Metro Manila and nearby areas, connecting certain parts of Bulacan, Metro Manila, and the province of Cavite.

Under the proposal, the subway would start from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, to Dasmariñas City, Cavite.

He said the feasibility study would cover the central zone of the subway, starting from Quezon City up to FTI.

“Right now it’s conducting a feasibility study for the central zone from Quezon City to FTI. This feasibility study would be finalized by July this year and presented to the Philippine government,” he said in his speech during a general membership meeting of the Makati Business Club.

The government, he said, would then decide the next course of action for the subway once the study has been submitted. He added that Jica already finished the pre-feasibility study in October 2015, which covered the information collection survey.

In a 2014 study, Jica estimated that traffic congestion in Metro Manila costs P2.4 billion per day. On top of that, they said that adjoining areas—Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite —lose P1 billion daily. This leads to a P1.2-trillion cost due to traffic in the Mega Manila Area.