(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday led the groundbreaking of the Kalayaan Avenue and Bonifacio Global City (BGC) stations of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), marking a major milestone in the government’s push to deliver faster, more reliable, and interconnected rail transport across the National Capital Region. In his speech during the ceremony in Taguig City, Marcos said that the project was not only about infrastructure but about restoring dignity to daily travel and reaffirming confidence in the nation’s ability to achieve transformative progress. “Today, we proved to the world something we thought — we once thought would be impossible: a subway in Metro Manila,” Marcos said. The new segment will connect Shaw Boulevard Station in Pasig City to Lawton Avenue Station in Taguig City, with the BGC stations within Uptown BGC projected to serve more than 200,000 passengers daily during their opening year. “This means workers arriving on time, students getting home earlier, and our citizens regaining hours that we once lost to congestion,” the president said. Once the entire 33.1-kilometer Metro Manila subway system is fully operational, Marcos said travel time from Valenzuela to BGC would be reduced from 1.5 hours to just 29 minutes. Connectivity to the airport will also improve, with Quezon City to Manila Airport travel time shortened from more than one hour to 35 minutes, he added. The subway will feature seamless interconnections with existing and planned railway lines, including LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7, LRT-2, MRT-4, and the North-South Commuter Railway, strengthening Metro Manila’s linkages with nearby provinces. “This is the scale of transformation that we are building. And this brings us closer to a fully connected subway system that will redefine mobility in our nation’s capital,” President Marcos said. “It also brings us closer towards restoring dignity to daily travel and reaffirming our confidence in what we can achieve as a nation,” he added. Before the groundbreaking ceremony at BGC that was also attended by Megaworld President and CEO Lourdes Alfonso, Marcos inspected the ongoing construction of the Shaw Boulevard Station. Upon arrival, the chief executive proceeded to the construction site to personally observe the progress of the subway segment. He was briefed by Transportation Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez and MMSP project manager Mikaela Eloisa Mendoza on the overall status of the project. Also present during the inspection were Pasig City Lone District Rep. Roman Romulo and Pasig City Mayor Victor Ma. Regis Sotto. In his speech, Marcos highlighted the progress of the Shaw Boulevard Station and expressed optimism about the project’s implementation. “The progress we’ve witnessed there and in all these projects demonstrates that implementation is fully and actively underway,” he said. Under Contract Package 104, the Shaw Boulevard Station segment is being implemented by the Tokyu-Tobishima-Megawide Joint Venture, with a contract cost of P18.27 billion. The package covers the construction of 3.40 kilometers of subway tunnels and two underground stations: Ortigas Avenue Station and Shaw Boulevard Station in Pasig City. In an update, demolition works at Ortigas Avenue Station are 88.15-percent complete, while excavation works at Shaw Boulevard Station have reached 40.77 percent. The segment is targeted for completion by November 2031. Phase 1 of the MMSP will operate 30 eight-car train sets, each capable of carrying up to 2,228 passengers. A demonstration run is targeted by 2028, with full completion expected by 2032.