(Eagle News) — Coming soon: Our very own subway.
Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade revealed on Friday plans to construct a subway in the country to add to the existing public transportation for commuters.
In a press conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Hong Kong, where President Rodrigo Duterte is on official visit, Tugade said the loan agreement under the Japan International Cooperation Agency program would hopefully be signed between the Philippine leader and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in November.
He said this was hopefully in time for the arrival of world leaders for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in the Philippines.
President Duterte is chair of the ASEAN this year.
“Hopefully prior to that, details on the feasibility study, design..will be finalized and completed,” Tugade said.
He said initially, though, the subway would be “between 23 and 25 kilometers covering 14 stations.”
The targeted ballpark figure of the project, he said, was “between P290 to 300 billion.”
“However, a lot will depend on the engineering details and on the (results of the) feasibility study,” he said.
He said the target was to finish the project within President Duterte’s term.
Apart from Tugade, the heads of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Budget and Management, among others, accompanied Duterte in his official trip to several Asian countries.
The President first attended the World Economic Forum in Cambodia, and is now set to face the Filipino community in Hong Kong.
He will then proceed to China, where he is to attend another high-level meeting.