President Marcos lauded the “impressive” ongoing construction of the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), saying it will reduce travel time from Valenzuela to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from two hours to just 40 minutes upon completion.

Marcos said this as he inspected the Camp Aguinaldo Station construction site of the MMSP on Wednesday, July 16.

In his remarks, the President expressed optimism that the Valenzuela leg would be completed and inaugurated by 2028.

“Ngayon, pagka nabuo na ito, ang travel time mula sa Valenzuela hanggang sa airport… mababawasan yan, mga 40 minutes na lang (Now, once this is completed, the travel time from Valenzuela to the airport will be reduced to around 40 minutes),” he said.

Marcos also urged all implementing agencies to fast-track the project’s completion.

“Sana, matapos natin ito by ‘28, pwede nang i-inaugurate (Hopefully we can finish this by 2028 so we can inaugurate it),” he said.

Calling the subway “napaka-impressive” (very impressive), the President said the scale of the project shows the Philippines is now capable of taking on major public transport infrastructure with the help of international partners.

“Isipin niyo kung gaano kabigat yung engineering na dinadala nila dito (Just imagine the scale of the engineering work being done here),” he said.

The first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) CP103 will be launched from Camp Aguinaldo Station toward Ortigas Station following a tunnel alignment under Barangay White Plains, Corinthian Properties, and Meralco Compound. As of June 30, the TBM has advanced 281.74 meters from the launching shaft and has reached the Camp Aguinaldo–White Plains boundary. The TBM is expected to reach Corinthian Properties by 4Q 2025.

The tunnel section passing beneath Corinthian Hills and Corinthian Gardens subdivisions covers approximately 850 meters of the alignment and is located in Barangay Ugong Norte, Quezon City. This segment forms part of the tunnel alignment between Camp Aguinaldo Station and Ortigas Station and affects a total of 69 private land parcels.

Despite continuous efforts from concerned agencies, Malacañang said several parcels within this section remain pending for subterranean right-of-way acquisition. These issues, which have persisted for nearly five years, continue to pose challenges to the smooth and timely implementation of CP103’s tunneling activities.

President Marcos credited the progress to the Japanese engineers leading the project, thanking Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya for the continued technical support.

“The Japanese are… one of the top when it comes to heavy engineering and construction work such as this,” he said.

The President was also pleased to see Filipino engineers and workers taking on most of the work under the supervision of Japanese experts.

“Yung mga Japanese lamang na nandito ay yung talagang espesyalista ngunit yung mga engineer natin tinuturuan na nila (Only the Japanese specialists are here now, and they’re training our engineers),” he said.

“Isa lang dun ang supervisor na Hapon, karamihan ng mga nagtatrabaho, puro Pilipino na (There’s only one Japanese supervisor, the rest of the workers are now Filipinos),” he added.

Marcos said he was satisfied with the pace of the construction and expressed confidence in the expertise of the Japanese contractors.

“I think we have picked the right partner and I’m very happy to see the progress being made,” he said.

The MMSP, the country’s first underground mass transit system, will span 33 kilometers and is expected to serve over 370,000 passengers daily once fully operational. It is being implemented by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) with funding and technical support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Once completed, the subway will link Valenzuela City to NAIA via key business and government districts, including East Valenzuela, Quezon City, Ortigas, BGC, and Pasay.