The contract was signed with a joint venture of Shimizu Corporation, Fujita Corporation, Takenaka Civil Engineering and EEI Corporation.
The joint venture will be designing and building the subway's initial section, which consists of its first three underground stations (Quirino Highway, Tandang Sora and North Avenue), tunnel structures and the Valenzuela Depot as well as the building and facilities for the Philippine Railway Institute.
The subway system is expected to start partial operations in 2022 with just three stations: Quirino Highway and Tandang Sora from this contract, along with Mindanao Avenue.
When completed Metro Manila Subway will have 15 stations from Quirino Highway in Quezon City to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Parañaque City,
The underground system is expected to serve up to 370,000 passengers per day, with a capacity of up to 1.5 million passengers per day once it starts its full operations in 2025.
In March last year, the Philippine and Japanese governments signed a loan agreement for the subway project, with the initial tranche amounting to PHP51.3bn (£750m).
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