JAPANESE Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko attended the signing ceremony for the 2nd tranche of an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan agreement on February 10. The loan — amounting to 253.307 billion yen — will fund the Metro Manila Subway Project (Phase 1) between the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Department of Finance. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd and JICA Philippines Representative Azukisawa Eigo signed the Agreement which follows Japan's 1st tranche funding of 104.53 billion yen, signed in March 2018.

Ambassador Koshikawa affirmed Japan's commitment to the Philippines' infrastructure development saying, 'The Metro Manila Subway was first planned in the 1970s, but it remained a plan for about half a century. Through the strong push and determination of the Duterte administration, this 'project of the century' is now steadily progressing. I am pleased that our tunnel boring machine will soon start excavating under the Metro Manila area in the 2nd quarter of this year.'