According to a report in The Philippine Star on March 21, DOTC assistant secretary Mr Jaime Feliciano says the government wants to increase daily public transport ridership in Manila from around 1.2 million 2.2 million passengers per day by 2017.

The headline project is a Pesos 135bn ($US 2.98bn) metro line running east-west from Taguig to Pasay and Makati, which would link fast-growing districts south of the city centre. The 20km line would have 11 stations and a 16km underground section, with the remaining 4km running on an elevated alignment.

The DOTC says it expects to submit the plans to the National Economic and Development Authority for approval in the second or third quarter of this year, with the aim of launching tenders for construction in the second quarter of 2015.

Another project currently being developed is a 90km north-south commuter line linking Malolos with Manila and Calamba, which could be extended to serve Clark International Airport. The total cost of the line is expected to be Pesos 284bn, although no timescales have been provided for tendering.

The government is also planning to further extend light metro line LRT1 south to Dasmarinas.