The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have launched the tunnel boring machine (TBM) at the Metro Manila Subway Project’s (MMSP) Camp Aguinaldo Station.

Under MMSP’s Contract Package 103, four TBMs will be deployed for the tunnelling of the Anonas and Camp Aguinaldo Stations. DOTr said a total of 19 TBMs are expected to be operating in the coming years to expedite the construction of this subway project, the country’s first underground rail system.

According to DOTr, as of December 2024, the overall construction progress of the MMSP project is at 18.24%. Dubbed the Philippines’ ‘crown jewel’ of mass transit system, the 33-km Metro Manila Subway will cut across eight cities from Valenzuela City to FTI-Bicutan in Parañaque City.

Once completed, the rail system will reduce the travel time between Valenzuela City and Pasay City to just 45 minutes, from one hour and 38 minutes, while servicing over half a million passengers daily.

Image: DOTr / Philippine Information Agency