Kishida checks subway project
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, accompanied by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, visited the Metro Manila Subway Project depot in Valenzuela City on Saturday.
Daily TribuneJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, accompanied by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, visited the Metro Manila Subway Project depot in Valenzuela City on Saturday.
Most of the 33-km project running from Valenzuela to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is funded by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Bautista showed Kishida the launching shaft of the subway's tunnel boring machine in the depot.
He called the Metro Manila Subway the "crown jewel" of mass transport, which aims to upgrade the country's transport sector to global standards and improve connectivity and mobility throughout the metropolis.
"The subway will improve the mobility of passengers and inter-city connectivity," Bautista said.
With Japan's extended support of the country's needed rail expansion, the DoTr said the progress of big-ticket transport projects, such as the subway, is on track.
Golden age of relations
Through JICA, the Philippines is one of the top beneficiaries of Official Development Assistance from Japan, a country with 150 years of experience in rail development, 30,000 kilometers of rail lines, and 25 billion riders a year.
One of the nine flagship transport infrastructure projects funded by the Japanese government, the Metro Manila Subway also aims to generate employment for Filipinos.
Kishida appreciated the long-standing bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and Japan, which he described as having reached a "golden age."
"Japan and the Philippines are now experiencing an excellent relationship — we call it the golden age. I look forward to working with President Marcos to take these bilateral relations to even new heights," the Japanese premier said.
Kishida said he and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also discussed a wide range of regional and global issues affecting the two nations.
Marcos will likely visit Tokyo for the 50th Association of Southeast Asian Nations — Japan Friendship and Cooperation summit next month.
Lade Jean Kabagani @tribunephl_Lade