DOTr pursuing Metro Manila ferry system

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will implement a proposed ferry system in Metro Manila starting 2026 after near completion of a feasibility study, with potential investors and private sector partners expressing interest.

The feasibility study for the Manila Bay-Pasig River-Laguna Lake (MAPALLA) Ferry System was initiated some two years ago but completion was delayed after DOTr included new inputs from private sector and government partners.

The delay prompted the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to propose a separate Pasig River Intermodal Transportation Project which already received approval to begin development.

DOTr chief communications development officer John Patrick Dayao said this project will be considered for input in the feasibility study for the MAPALLA Ferry System.

“It needs to be aligned with the project of the PPA … to finalize the actual scope of the project,” Dayao said on the sidelines of Norway-Philippines Electric Ferries Conference 2025.

DOTr earlier tapped the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center, through the project development and monitoring facility of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), to develop the study.

When the study is completed, DOTr will submit the project for the approval of the Economy and Development (ED) Council.

The ED Council, chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., is responsible for overseeing the government’s policy direction on economic matters, including proposed PPP arrangements.

Under the MAPALLA system, the ferry vessels as well as the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the whole system will be bundled and bid out through PPP as a single contract.

DOTr may also decide to award the contracts for the vessels and O&M to two different companies, according to Dayao.

The ferry system is expected to be built in phases, starting with the first package covering a 30-kilometer (km) stretch of Marikina River and Pasig River.

With an estimated cost of ₱32.8 billion, this phase of the project will involve at least 29 ferry stations and a fleet of 75 all-electric ferries.

DOTr will start constructing in 2027, with partial operations within two years.

The second package of the ferry system would expand to Manila Bay and Laguna Lake, covering an additional six stations and 26 vessels. This phase will begin in 2033, to be completed by 2035.

Once fully operational, the ferry system can accommodate more than 10,000 passengers daily during its first year of operations, eventually to over 30,000 passengers per day as services expand.

Serving as an east-to-west linkage across Mega Manila, MAPALLA Ferry System will serve as alternate route for commuters escaping heavily congested roads in the metro.

While still in its early stages, ADB is interested in becoming DOTr’s development partner for the project.

ADB senior regional maritime specialist Duncan McIntosh said they are “very willing” to support the project, noting that it can extend assistance through its sovereign, private sector, or PPP operations.

With 101 vessels planned for the project, Norwegian maritime companies are eager to participate. During the Electric Ferries Conference, they suggested that DOTr consider dividing vessel procurement into several contracts to be awarded to different companies.