Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa said Monday at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Shaw Boulevard and Ortigas stations of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) was a “good indicator” of the two countries’ infrastructure cooperation gaining momentum.

In a speech, Koshikawa said: “Today’s groundbreaking is such a good indicator that our infrastructure cooperation is gaining much momentum under the Marcos administration’s Build Better More policies.”

The two stations, which are under Contract Package 104 of the MMSP, will be constructed by the Tokyu-Tobishima Megawide Joint Venture (TTM-JV).

Koshikawa said the construction of the MMSP is in line with Japan’s aim of supporting the Philippines in achieving its goal of becoming an upper-middle economy and post-pandemic recovery.

According to Koshikawa, the Philippines’ dream to have its first subway is “no longer elusive”.

“The Philippine dream of (having its) first ever subway is no longer an elusive one after 50 years of no progress. It will enhance connectivity in Metro Manila by reducing travel time between Quezon City to NAIA Terminal 3 and create around 60,000 jobs,” Koshikawa said.

Koshikawa was optimistic that the MMSP would help the country surpass its pre-pandemic gross domestic product (GDP).

“With the Philippines economy now on track to full recovery, I'm hopeful this project would help advance the country’s surpass the pre-pandemic gross levels and even greater,” Koshikawa said.

“As we press on toward these common goals, our bilateral cooperation, its first and sure model is here to stay. With the full support of the state-of-the-art Japanese technologies and skilled experts, the Philippines can be certain that Japan will continue to cooperate to turn this Philippine dream from a blueprint to a reality,” he added.

Koshikawa earlier thanked President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista for their "dedicated effort and strong leadership".

He also wished for the safety of the Filipino and Japanese contractors as well as for the other people involved.

MMSP will be the Philippines’ first underground mass transit system.

It will be 33 kilometers long and will comprise 17 stations from Valenzuela City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasig City.

The railway project is funded by the Japanese government through an Official Development Assistance and is set to be fully operational by 2028.

On February 10, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a loan agreement with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines in Manila to provide an ODA loan of up to 253,307 million yen for the Metro Manila Subway Project . Jaspearl Tan/DMS