The line, which will connect Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 with Guadalupe station on metro Line 3 via the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, is projected to cost Pesos 70bn ($US 1.72bn) according to a pre-feasibility study completed by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Transport and Industry earlier this year.
"The government of Japan is willing to finance it. So, since there is no cost to the government, we are allowing them to undertake a full-blown feasibility study," says Mr Arnel Casanova BCDA president, who confirmed that the project will be pursued as a public-private partnership. BCDA aims to complete the line by 2016.
Domestic technology could be sourced for the Manila project following the introduction of 465m-long monorail service at the University of Philippines Quezon city campus in December. Developed as a joint project by the Department of Science and Technology and the University of the Philippines Dilman, the Automated Guideway Transport system is powered by a combination of dc electrification and batteries, and uses rubber wheels.
