THE Transportation department and the Department of National Defense (DND) on Friday inked a usufruct agreement covering five properties of the latter, which will be partly used for the Metro Manila Subway project.
Under the agreement, the DND properties that would be expropriated are the Veterans Memorial Medical Center and Golf Course, the AFP Medical Center (formerly known as the V. Luna Hospital), Camp Aguinaldo, Fort Bonifacio, and Villamor Air Base.
These real estate assets will become sites of five of the planned 17 subway stations as well as used for interstation tunneling works and temporary works during construction.
Transport Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John R. Batan, in his speech at the event, said the partnership between the two departments “will contribute to the fast and sure delivery of one of the boldest and most ambitious projects in the Duterte Administration’s Build Build Build Program.”
Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade led the signing.
Mr. Batan said the Transport department would pay the DND a recurring annual usufruct fee of 10% of latest zonal value and 5% of gross non-farebox revenues for the subway stations at its properties.
The project, the first subway in the country, will span 34 kilometers from Valenzuela City to the NAIA airport Termina 2.
The flagship project is funded through official development assistance from Japan.
Partial operations is targeted by end-2021 and full project completion is expected by 2025. — Angelica Y. Yang