Inspection and testing of Metro Manila Subway’s tunnel boring machine

The Factory Acceptance Test of the tunnel boring machine (TBM) to be used in the construction of the Metro Manila Subway was held last December 14 to 15, 2020 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The activity was attended by representatives from the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Joint Venture of Shimizu Corp., Fujita Corp., Takenaka Civil Engineering Co. Ltd., and EEI Corporation, General Consultant OC Global, and JIMTECH Group.

The tunnel boring machine has a range of 6 to 12 meters and can create an average of 7 to 9 meters length of tunneling per day using rotating cutting wheels that can easily break hard soil and rocks. Its power and quality can perform fast tunneling and avoid disruption above ground during construction.

Phase 1 of the Metro Manila Subway project has a span of 36 kilometers and consists of 17 stations from Valenzuela to NAIA Terminal 3 and FTI. Initial part of Phase 1 was awarded by the DOTr to the Joint Venture of Shimizu Corp., Fujita Corp., Takenaka Civil Engineering Co. Ltd., and EEI Corporation. It includes one depot in Valenzuela City and three underground stations in Quirino Highway, Tandang Sora, and North Avenue. Project management and construction will be headed by Kiyoshi Mimura of Shimizu, Akira Shibanuma of Fujita, Hiromasa Yamamoto of Takenaka, and Ferdinand Apolonio of EEI Corporation.

The Metro Manila Subway is the first ever underground railway system in the Philippines.