MANILA - San Miguel Corp (SMC) said Friday that the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) project is halfway completed, and is set to open December 2022.

"Our progress for the MRT-7 project as of January 2021 is at about 54 percent. We have already completed a significant amount of civil works . . . Electrical and mechanical works have also advanced significantly,” said SMC president Ramon S. Ang.

Work done included the installation rails or tracks, as well as bored piles, girders, foundational works on stations.

Construction for elevation requirements and tunnel lengths of the rail are finished, too, Ang added.

He noted that MRT-7 has "more complex" right of way issues than the newly completed Skyway Stage 3, which was also "one of the most difficult" projects for the company.

Once completed, MRT-7 will connect MRT-3 and LRT-1, and can carry passengers from Quezon City to San Jose del Monte city, Bulacan faster.

A total of 36 train sets or 108 train cars are being procured, which will be delivered incrementally. SMC said its depot can hold up to 150 trains for future capacity expansion, if needed.

Factory acceptance testing (FAT) for the initial 6 train sets or 18 cars has been set in April in South Korea.

The testing for ticket vending machines and automatic gates is also expected within the first quarter this year.

“Now that we’ve crossed the halfway mark, we’re expecting to reach a lot of major milestones for this project this year. This includes the construction of the stations, testing of various equipment in different countries, and the actual arrival of these equipment, including the first batch of trains,” Ang said.

SMC said the rail traversing the northern part outside of Metro Manila is seen to spur economic growth in the whole of Bulacan.

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