The Makati City Subway Project in Manila has secured an environmental clearance from the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Philippines. The project developers are expecting to start the construction by the end of the year.

President and CEO of Philippine Infradev, Antonio Tiu, said that the company is working on receiving the last permits to be able to start construction works as soon as possible. Tiu predicts that the line might be completed in 2024, ahead of the scheduled 2025 deadline.

The project is being implemented under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The PPP agreement is signed between the Government of Makati and Philippine Infradev in consortium with Chinese firms Greenland Holdings Group, Jiangsu Provincial Construction Group, and China Harbour Engineering Company.

The 10km project will require about US$3.5 billion of investment. It will have 10 stations that will serve around 700,000 passengers per day in Makati’s central business district.

The key points of connection of the project include:

• The central business district at the corner of Ayala and Sen Gil Puyat Avenues
• Circuit City
• Makati City Hall
• University of Makati, and
• Makati Hospital.

The subway project will be interconnected to the existing transport city in the capital area such as the MRT Line 3, the Pasig River ferry and the proposed Metro Manila Mega Subway.