Right-of-way secured for NAIA Terminal 3 subway station, says Marcos
The government has fully secured the station-area right-of-way for the NAIA Terminal 3 station of the Metro Manila Subway Project, clearing a key requirement for construction. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced the milestone at the groundbreaking for Contract Package 109, which covers the u
The government has fully secured the station-area right-of-way for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 station of the Metro Manila Subway Project, clearing a key requirement for construction of the underground station and its connecting tunnels, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday.
“Another important milestone is that 100% of the station-area right-of-way has already been secured, allowing construction to move forward with greater certainty,” Mr Marcos said at the groundbreaking ceremony for Contract Package 109 at the open parking area of NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City. “The Metro Manila Subway is steadily taking shape. And that progress matters because moving around Metro Manila still takes far too much time,” he added.
The package covers the civil works for the underground NAIA Terminal 3 station and tunnels linking it to the subway’s Taguig City section, according to a Department of Transportation (DoTr) project brief. The station will have a gross floor area of 19,179.5 square meters, while the connecting tunnels will span 1,964 meters, with a diameter of 6.7 meters and a depth ranging from 10 to 37 meters.
“Contract Package 109 brings that network closer to our international gateway,” Mr Marcos said. “It covers the construction of the underground NAIA Terminal 3 Station and its connecting tunnels between Taguig and Pasay.” The contract will also introduce a tunneling method that Mr Marcos said is being used for the first time in the Philippines. It requires underpinning the piers of an existing elevated expressway to protect the structure while the subway tunnels pass beneath it. “Proven in Japan, this method will help ensure that construction can proceed safely beneath existing infrastructure while also maintaining structural integrity,” he said.
The broader Metro Manila Subway Project, a 33.1-kilometer line connecting Quezon City to NAIA Terminal 3, has reached nearly 60% overall progress, Mr Marcos said, with construction under way across most of the alignment. The subway project has an approved cost of P488.48 billion. Japan International Cooperation Agency loans account for P370.77 billion, while the National Government will shoulder the remaining P117.71 billion.
Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro said the subway would serve thousands of passengers daily once the NAIA Terminal 3 station becomes operational. The DoTr expects daily ridership to reach 74,000 by 2045. The National Economic and Development Authority Board approved the project in September 2021. Construction on the full line began in the fourth quarter of 2019, with completion targeted for the third quarter of 2031.
Bidding for Contract Package 109 was published in May 2023, the notice of award was issued in March 2026, and the contract was signed in May, according to the DoTr brief. The notice to proceed was issued in June, ahead of Wednesday’s groundbreaking. Actual construction is targeted to begin in October. The right-of-way for the station area, covering properties of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and Department of National Defense, had been fully acquired as of August 2025. Right-of-way for the tunnel area was 51% complete as of the ceremony, with the remaining acquisitions covering local government properties in Pasay City.
