Colas Rail, leader of a consortium that includes Thales and Egis, has been selected by Mitsubishi Corporation to design and build the turnkey rail system for the first underground line of the Metro Manila Subway, for a total contract value of about €1 billion, of which €760 million1 for Colas Rail. The contract, the first secured by Colas Rail in the Philippines, further reinforce the company's position as a system integrator for major rail infrastructure.

The project involves the design and construction of a 35-km long entirely underground subway line with 15 stations, linking East Valenzuela in northern Manila to Terminal 3 of Ninoy-Aquino International Airport in the south of the capital city, which will save more than an hour over the entire route compared to an identical journey by car. This first subway line will also reinforce the existing aboveground light rail network. 

Colas Rail will carry out the engineering and system integration, track, CBTC (Communication Based Train Control) signaling, power distribution, overhead lines, and depot equipment, for a total of €760 million euros1. 

More than 500 people will be mobilized on average, the vast majority of whom will be recruited locally, from the engineering phase scheduled for 2022 until the end of the construction, slated for completion in 2027. 

This new line will help to meet Manila’s growing demand for public transportation, which has been driven by the city’s rapid economic growth. It will also help to reduce traffic congestion and atmospheric pollution, both of which are particularly severe in Metro Manila. 

"This is the first project won by Colas Rail in the Philippines and it clearly illustrates that their expertise and leadership in complex rail infrastructure and system integration is now globally renowned. We would like to thank Mitsubishi Corporation for the confidence they have placed in our Group. Colas Rail's teams are proud to mobilize their skills and know-how to successfully complete a major project of this scale, again paving the way to sustainable mobility around the world," underlines Frédéric Gardès, Chairman and CEO of Colas.

1 Including €680 million in the order backlog in the fourth quarter 2021