Korean-Japanese joint venture to design Mega Manila rail network

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January 15, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — A joint venture between South Korean and Japanese builders have won the $12-million deal to deliver the feasibility study for the plan to build a rail network in Mega Manila.

In a notice, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) awarded the $11.99-million project for the conduct of a feasibility study for the Greater Capital Region (GCR) Railways to the joint venture of Dohwa Engineering Co. Ltd and Nippon Koei Co. Ltd.

The study, financed by the Asian Development Bank, aims to look into the viability of putting up a rail system in the GCR, also called Mega Manila.

The GCR covers mainly the powerhouse regions of Metro Manila, Central and Southern Luzon. Rail projects currently under construction are focused in the GCR due to its economic impact and population density.

The North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) – the country’s biggest infrastructure project – will run for 147 kilometers across the GCR districts. The NSCR, costing P873.6 billion, will connect Clark International Airport and Calamba, Laguna in a single line.

The NSCR is expected to reduce travel time from point to point to only 2.5 hours, with ridership seen reaching 800,000 passengers daily.

DOTr targets to complete the Valenzuela-Malolos line of the NSCR by December 2027 and the Malolos-Clark leg by October 2028.

Another game-changing rail undertaking, the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), will cover the whole of Metro Manila, from Valenzuela City in the north, to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in the south.

The MMSP, requiring P488.5 billion, is the country’s first underground railway that would cross 33 kilometers of Metro Manila. It will reduce travel time between Valenzuela City and NAIA to nearly half an hour.

Right now, Metro Manila is home to three railways: the Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2, and the Metro Rail Transit Line 3. By 2027, the DOTr expects private partner San Miguel Corp. to finish the P68.2-billion Metro Rail Transit Line 7, spanning between Quezon City and Bulacan.

There are also efforts to put up new railways in the eastern metro, mainly the Metro Rail Transit Line 4, connecting Ortigas and Taytay, Rizal.

Dohwa is one of the largest engineering experts in South Korea, while Nippon Koei is one of the oldest construction consultants in Japan, as it was established in 1946.