ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Trade & Industry devider DOTr extends MRT-3 maintenance deal with Sumitomo as privatization looms

DOTr extends MRT-3 maintenance deal with Sumitomo as privatization looms

Published Sep 12, 2025 01:11 pm
One of the unused Dalian trains finally hit the MRT-3 tracks on July 16, 2025. (Santi San Juan)
One of the unused Dalian trains finally hit the MRT-3 tracks on July 16, 2025. (Santi San Juan)
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has extended its maintenance and rehabilitation agreement with the Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corp. for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) until 2027, while the privatization plan remains in the pipeline.
Transportation Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the two-year extension covers the rehabilitation and maintenance component of the MRT-3, ensuring the uninterrupted operation of Metro Manila’s busiest railway.
Lopez said Sumitomo will continue to oversee essential system upgrades and repairs, as well as ongoing operational reliability.
“With the agreement, commuters are assured of efficient and convenient rail services, reduced glitches and breakdowns, and shorter travel time,” he said in a statement.
Lopez acknowledged that the Japanese firm has “undeniable capability and expertise” in ensuring that the MRT-3 runs smoothly.
Sumitomo is the designer, builder, and maintenance provider of the MRT-3, which went into full operation in 2000.
After the company’s contract ended in 2012, Sumitomo was once again tapped by the DOTr in 2019 to rehabilitate and maintain MRT-3 with support from the Japanese government in the form of official development assistance (ODA).
The DOTr stated that Sumitomo completed the systems rehabilitation for MRT-3 in December 2021, with ongoing maintenance services continuing until October this year.
Under Sumitomo, the MRT-3 was able to increase the number of operational trains from a low of seven in 2018 to a high of 22 in 2022, which enabled the deployment of up to 20 train sets during peak hours.
Without disclosing the amount, Lopez said the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) once again extended assistance for MRT-3’s maintenance efforts.
"With Sumitomo, JICA, and the Government of Japan by our side, we look forward to ensuring that MRT-3 continues to provide safe, reliable, and efficient service to our Filipino commuters and the riding public in general," he said.
When the DOTr last extended the maintenance and rehabilitation agreement with Sumitomo in 2023 for an additional two years, the agency signed a $130-million loan facility with JICA.
The loan was earmarked for maintenance and improvement efforts for the MRT-3 until 2025, or the year when the build-lease-transfer (BLT) contract for the railway expires.
Former Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon told reporters in June that the government would push for a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement for the MRT-3, with bidding scheduled for this year, following the scheduled transfer of the rail line’s operations to the government.
Sobrepeña-led Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC) entered into a 25-year BLT contract with the government for the 16.9-kilometer railway.
Under the agreement, the DOTr holds the franchise and oversees the operation and fare collection, while MRTC finances, constructs, and maintains MRT-3 in exchange for monthly payments from the government.
Once the contract expires, ownership of the MRT-3 will be transferred to the government.
In a response to a freedom of information (FOI) request, the DOTr confirmed last month that the MRT, then known as Light Rail Transit System (LRTS) Phase 1, was officially turned over to the government on July 15.
The DOTr said it owns the entire MRT-3, including the depot, stations, trains, and all ancillary plant, equipment, and facilities.
This will not last long, as the DOTr under Lopez is set to proceed with the planned bidding for a PPP deal this year, as earlier disclosed by Dizon.
“We're still pursuing the PPP, targeting to award the concession next year,” Lopez told Manila Bulletin in a text message.
The secretary said the ODA the agency received from JICA will serve as a “bridge between now and when we have already awarded the PPP.”
The DOTr earlier tapped the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide technical advisory services for the PPP arrangement.

Related Tags

Department of Transportation (DOTr) MRT-3
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.