CONSTRUCTION of three subway stations in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), part of its redevelopment plan in conjunction with the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), will proceed this year, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and CEO Joshua Bingcang told reporters over the weekend.
The three subway stations, located at Market! Market!, the new Senate building and Uptown, will help ease traffic in BGC. Construction will start in the first quarter.
“We sought the help of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), because [it made] the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) plan [for the MMSP],” Bingcang added.
The TOD focuses on creating compact, high-density, mixed-use communities around stations to promote public transit usage, reduce traffic congestion and lower carbon emissions.
The JICA — which is funding 76 percent of the P488.48 billion (about $9.58 billion) MMSP through official development assistance — provided technical assistance to the BCDA in planning integrated residential, commercial and public spaces, particularly at key stations like Market! Market!, for efficient connectivity and enhanced land value.
“We’re discussing arrangements with Market! Market! [through Ayala Malls, which operates it],“ Bingcang said, noting that the BCDA may renew Ayala’s lease contract which expires in 2027 so that “there is no disruption of business.“
The BCDA has signed an agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) granting right-of-way (ROW) access for three subway stations, Bingcang said.
ROW issues have delayed the subway and other big-ticket infrastructure projects of the government. However, in the last several months, the DOTr said it had cleared the 90.76 percent of ROW requirements for the subway, the country’ first underground railway system.
The MMSP will cover 33 kilometers from Valenzuela City in the north to Bicutan in the south, traversing seven local government units and three major business districts (Ortigas, BGC, and Makati), with 17 stations including a dedicated line to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.
It is designed to carry up to 1.5 million passengers daily at full capacity, with eight-car train sets traveling at speeds up to 80 km/h.
It is expected to cut travel time from Quezon City to NAIA from over an hour to just 35 minutes.
The MMSP is 40 to 50 percent complete as of January, with first demo runs targeted in 2028, partial operations in 2029, and full operations in 2032.
SCTEX interchanges
Meanwhile, construction of interchanges along the 94-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) will be finished this year, Bingcang said.
“We will be adding service facilities [for motorists] going to Subic. There are no facilities there,“ Bingcang noted.
Additional road lights will also be added throughout SCTEx.
In September 2025, BCDA said it will spend some P1 billion within the next two years for SCTEx improvements, including the expansion of the interchange connecting Luisita Access Road in Tarlac City to help ease traffic.
Construction of the Luisita interchange was undertaken via bidding.
The SCTEx — which the government owns through the BCDA — is operated and maintained by North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corp., a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.
Under a 33-year business and operating agreement signed in 2011, NLEX manages the toll road while sharing 50 percent of gross toll revenues with the BCDA. The arrangement allows the BCDA to repay nearly P34 billion in JICA loans used to build the SCTEx.
In mid-2024, the BCDA confirmed it was evaluating an offer from the Metro Pacific Group to buy out the government’s 50-percent revenue stake for more than P20 billion.
The BCDA did not accept the offer, Bingcang said.
Even if this stake is sold, the physical property is expected to remain with the government.
