Philippine Infradev Holdings Inc. is calling it quits on the multi-billion peso Makati Subway System.
The underground railway project, once seen as a game-changer for the city, hit a major roadblock after the Supreme Court transferred several key areas from Makati to Taguig.
In a recent announcement to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Infradev revealed that its Board of Directors decided to stop pursuing the subway project. The main reason? The Supreme Court’s ruling placed some planned subway stations and the depot under Taguig’s jurisdiction, not Makati’s. This shift has made the project economically and operationally unfeasible.
To resolve the dispute, Infradev has opened arbitration proceedings with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, seeking a fair outcome for the Joint Venture Agreement with Makati City.
The Makati Subway dream began in October 2018 when Makati awarded the public-private partnership to Infradev and its partners—Greenland Holdings Group, Jiangsu Provincial Construction Group, and China Harbour Engineering Company.
By December that year, they had already broken ground.
This $3.5-billion project aimed to build 10 underground stations in prime spots like Ayala Triangle, Makati City Hall, and the University of Makati.
It also planned to connect with MRT3, the Pasig River Ferry System, and the future Metro Manila Mega Subway. The project targeted a 2025 completion, promising relief to up to 700,000 daily commuters while slashing city traffic by 270,000 vehicles.
But the 2021 Supreme Court ruling dealt a heavy blow. It declared the Fort Bonifacio Military Reservation and 10 barangays—including Pembo, Comembo, Cembo, West and South Cembo, East and West Rembo, Pitogo, Rizal, Northside, and Southside—as part of Taguig. This decision compromised vital parts of the subway’s route and facilities.
Efforts by Makati to file a second motion for reconsideration were rejected in June 2023, extinguishing hopes of reversing the court’s decision.
As early as September 2023, Infradev had warned that the project was in jeopardy due to the court ruling. The depot in Barangay Cembo, and stations at University of Makati in West Rembo and Ospital ng Makati in Pembo, now officially fall under Taguig’s territory.
What seemed like a bold step toward solving Metro Manila’s notorious traffic woes has now become a tangled legal battle. The fate of the Makati Subway hangs in the balance, leaving commuters and city planners to wonder: Will this project ever rise from the underground?