Construction Kicks Off for Kalayaan and BGC Stations on the Metro Manila Subway

(SPOT.ph) Construction work has formally begun on the Kalayaan Avenue and BGC stations of the Metro Manila Subway Project, marking the start of underground works for the segment connecting Ortigas, Shaw, and Bonifacio Global City (BGC).

The Kalayaan Avenue and BGC stations are part of the southern section that will eventually link Pasig to Taguig, then extend toward Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3. According to project details, the Kalayaan Avenue Station will be located beneath 11th Avenue and the Uptown Open Parking area in BGC, while the BGC Station will be located beneath McKinley Parkway, between Serendra and Market! Market!.

This portion falls under Contract Package 105 (CP 105), which covers 1.331 kilometers of tunnels in Barangay Fort Bonifacio. Based on contract disclosures, CP 105 is expected to take about 67 months—or five years and seven months—to finish, so it could be open by late 2031 or early 2032 if construction stays on schedule.

Once completed, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said travel time from Valenzuela City to BGC will be cut from one and a half hours to just 29 minutes. The BGC Stations are expected to serve 200,000 daily passengers in its opening year.

Also read: Metro Manila Subway to be Partially Operational by 2028

Before the BGC-Kalayaan groundbreaking ceremony, Marcos also inspected the Shaw Boulevard Station site in Pasig City. Excavation works there are already about 40.77% complete, with the segment still targeting a November 2031 finish.

He said that the progress is “very much on schedule.”

The Metro Manila Subway will feature 17 stations in 33 kilometers, connecting Valenzuela City to Parañaque City with a spur line to NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City.

Once completed, the DOTr said it is expected to reduce travel time from Valenzuela to Pasay to 35 minutes from the previous 1 hour and 30 minutes. Each of the 8-car trainsets will be able to carry up to 2,200 passengers, with trains arriving at stations every five minutes. 

Here are the 17 stations of the Metro Manila Subway:

• East Valenzuela

• Quirino Highway

• Tandang Sora

• North Avenue (Grand Common Station)

• Quezon Avenue

• East Avenue

• Anonas

• Camp Aguinaldo

• Ortigas Avenue

• Shaw Boulevard

• Kalayaan Avenue

• Bonifacio Global City

• Lawton Avenue

• Senate-DepEd

• NAIA Terminal 3

• FTI

• Bicutan

The subway will be interconnected with LRT-1, MRT-3, and MRT-7 at the Common Station, LRT-2 at Anonas Station, and a physical run through into the North-South Commuter Railway Extension (NSCR-EX) at FTI and Bicutan Stations. 

The project broke ground as early as February 2019, but actual implementation had only commenced in January 2023 amid previous right-of-way issues on top of the delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also read: End of an Era: Metrowalk Demolition Begins to Make Way for Metro Manila Subway