The Manila Electric Co., or Meralco, the country’s largest power distributor, will power up a depot of the country’s first-ever underground railway system.

Meralco and the Department of Transportation formalized their partnership to establish facilities at the Valenzuela Depot of the Metro Manila Subway Project, or MMSP, on Thursday.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the partnership holds great importance in ensuring an uninterrupted power supply and reliable service for commuters using the subway system.

“I would like to thank Meralco for its support as this agreement will help the Metro Manila Subway get a step closer to reality,” Bautista said, during the signing of the Switching Station Agreement with Deeds of Usufruct between the DoTr and Meralco.

Under the agreement, the transport agency will provide Meralco with a Switching Station area of 1,743 square meters for the interconnection of the Metro Manila Subway to the energy provider’s distribution network.

Once granted by the DoTr lot allocation, Meralco will finance, install, construct, control, operate, and maintain the facilities within the switching station for the Metro Manila Subway interconnection.

With 17 stations and a depot of 30.34 hectares, the civil works for the project’s two major segments are expected to generate more than 6,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Funded by the Japanese government, the MMSP is a 33-kilometer underground rail line that will stretch from Valenzuela City to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City.

The project is expected to reduce travel time between Quezon City and NAIA from one hour and 10 minutes to just 45 minutes.