As part of the ongoing Metro Manila subway project, Mitsubishi has granted a close to US$ 1.1bn contract to a consortium led by Colas Rail to design and install the turnkey rail system for the 35-kilometer Manila underground metro line that is set to extend from East Valenzuela in northern Manila to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

The deal is Colas Rail’s first secured in the Philippines, and it is worth US$ 830M to the corporation, which will be in charge of track, CBTC, power distribution, overhead wires, and depot equipment, as well as engineering and system integration.

With a total of 15 stations, when it opens in 2027, the line is expected to carry 370,000 passengers per day in its first year of full operation, cutting travel time by an hour compared to the road. The project is partially funded by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency in the amount of US$ 5.13bn.

On February 14, the Department of Transportation granted Mitsubishi a US$ 1.2bn contract to supply the line’s integrated railway systems and trackwork. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on March 8 that underground work on the line will begin in the third quarter of this year, with the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) lowered by May. In February 2021, the first two of the project’s 25 TBMs arrived in the Philippines.