Ched Rick Gatchalian

Passengers line up for the Manila Metro Rail Transit System also known as MRT Line 3 at the Taft Avenue Station in Pasay. George Calvelo, ABS CBN News

 

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PH, Japan ink second loan deal for MRT3 rehab worth P8.175 B

Harlene Delgado

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770182909046mrt.jpg" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Passengers line up for the Manila Metro Rail Transit System also known as MRT Line 3 at the Taft Avenue Station in Pasay. George Calvelo, ABS CBN News/File</span></span></span>MANILA (UPDATED) — The Philippines and Japan have signed another loan deal for the rehabilitation of MRT Line 3.</div><p>Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya led the ceremonial signing and exchange of notes at the DFA building in Pasay City on Wednesday, February 4.</p><p>The second supplemental loan has an amount of P8.175 billion or approximately￥21.634 billion. The first was signed with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2023 worth ￥17.4 billion.</p><p>Among its terms and conditions are interest rate of 0.8% per annum, repayment period of 40 years (including a 10-year grace period) and tied financing term.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/11/07/18/japan-commits-to-fund-mrt-rehabilitation">Japan commits to fund MRT rehabilitation</a></div><p>In his speech, Kazuya said Japan is “proud to contribute to the advancement of the Philippines&#x27; railway system” through various forms of support, adding that the deal “reflects the trust and cooperation” between the two countries.</p><p>“I sincerely hope that through our joint efforts, MRT-3 will continue to provide safer, more reliable and more convenient service for commuters,” he said.</p><p>Lazaro called the continued rehabilitation of the railway a “direct investment in the productivity, safety and quality life of our people.”</p><p>“The continued support of the government of Japan through the JICA once again demonstrates Japan’s long-standing partnership with the Philippines in advancing infrastructure development,” she added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>PROJECT AIM</strong></div><p>The project aims “to restore the MRT to its original as-designed condition, ensuring high-grade infrastructure performance and enabling future capacity expansion, through comprehensive rehabilitation and upgrading of critical components.”</p><p>These involve replacement of rails in the mainline, general overhauling of 72-CKD Tatra LRVs, procurement of bogie frames and bogie assemblies, restoration, renewal or upgrade of subsystems, including the tracks, signaling system, power supply system, overhead catenary system, communications system, and maintenance and station equipment and integration with other MRT 3-related projects</p><p>Transport Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the MRT-3’s rehabilitation and maintenance works have already commenced in November 2025 and that they “remain fully committed” to reach the target completion of the project by October 2027.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/15/philippines-japan-sign-defense-development-deals-1235">Japan, Philippines ink deal to allow military resupply, boost internet connectivity</a></div><p>In 2025, MRT served an average of 400,000 passengers daily with the steady increase in ridership “reflecting growing public transport and its reliability,” according to Lopez.</p><p>The DOTr acting chief vowed that with planned system-wide improvements in the pipeline, commuters will experience stations that is “designed to help them move faster and more conveniently.”</p><p>“Our goal is to provide a better commuting experience that respects the time and safety of every passenger especially senior citizens and persons with disabilities,” he stated.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QtKgGz6gdj0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I07wnDiwcWs?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The second supplemental loan has an amount of P8.175 billion or approximately ¥21.634 billion with “target completion in October 2029”. The first was signed with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2023 worth ￥17.4 billion.</p>

The second supplemental loan has an amount of P8.175 billion or approximately ¥21.634 billion with “target completion in October 2029”. The first was signed with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2023 worth ￥17.4 billion.

PH, Japan ink second loan deal for MRT-3 rehab worth P8.175 billion

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PH, Japan ink second loan deal for MRT-3 rehab worth P8.175 billion

Harlene Delgado,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 04, 2026 01:41 PM PHT

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Updated February 04, 2026 03:54 PM PHT

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Philippines

Japan

MRT-3

Rehabilitation

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