The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), led by Chief Representative Yoshio Wada and the Philippine government, represented by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, signed Friday the 104.53 billion yen Official Development Assistance (ODA) supporting the initial construction of the country’s first subway to help address Metro Manila’s traffic woes.

JICA’s support to the 25-kilometer Metro Manila Subway Project with an estimated total cost of 800-billion yen complements the Philippine government’s “Build Build Build” priorities on building infrastructure to attract investments and enhance the mobility of Filipinos.

The signed loan agreement amounting to 104.53 billion yen waill cover actual demand for funding for the initial years.

The project, identified in the JICA-NEDA Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and its surrounding areas, will connect Mindanao Avenue in north of Metro Manila to FTI and further to NAIA in the south to help address perennial traffic.

“As the Philippines’ trusted partner in development for many years, JICA offers our support to the construction of the subway project so the Philippines can sustain its growth trajectory, and improve the quality of life of many Filipinos through seamless mobility and connectivity,” said Wada.

The subway project is seen as one of the solutions to the rising traffic costs in Mega Manila at P3.5 billion per day as of 2017 based on preliminary results of the follow-up survey on the Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for the Greater Capital Region. Traffic costs are the economic costs of transportation including vehicle operating costs and time costs spent in traffic in Metro Manila.

JICA, the world’s largest bilateral aid agency, is one of the Philippines’ major development partners with ODA assistance amounting to $16.4 billion as of Japan fiscal year 2016.

It has 109 ongoing development cooperation projects in the Philippines cutting across various development sectors to promote sustainable economic growth, overcome vulnerability and alleviate poverty, and peace and development in Mindanao. DMS