MRT Line 7 (Metro Manila)

The Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) first approved a version of the MRT Line 7 project in March 2004; this initial approval was provisional and contingent on the project's impact on the government's deficit reduction program. It had been submitted as an unsolicited proposal under the build–operate–transfer scheme by the Universal LRT Corporation, a consortium consisting of Alstom, EEI Corporation, Tyco Electronics, and others.[4] NEDA subsequently authorized the $1.2 billion project's construction the following August, citing the proponents' willingness to comply with the ICC's requirements, with construction slated to begin in 2005 and a targeted opening date in 2007.[5][6] In October 2004, Universal LRT Corporation signed an agreement with the Manila Banking Corporation to purchase 193 hectares (480 acres) of property in Bulacan for ₱1 billion, stating it would develop this property to complement the rail line.[7]

Universal LRT Corporation (now SMC-Mass Rail Transit 7 Incorporated), a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), was selected by the Department of Transportation and Communications to build the line in 2008. SMC tapped the consortium of Hyundai Rotem and EEI Corporation as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor. Construction of the line should have commenced in January 2010, but was postponed several times.[8] The Department of Finance issued the terms of financial guarantee for the line in 2014, and financial closure for the project was achieved in February 2016.[9] Hyundai Rotem won the US$ 440.2m contract with SMC-Mass Rail Transit 7 Incorporated to supply 108 train cars, signalling, communication and power supply systems.[10][11]

The project was developed through a public-private partnership (PPP) and it has an indicative cost of ₱62.7 billion.

The new line will include a 22.8 kilometer of a mostly elevated railway line with 14 stations. The project also includes construction of a 22 kilometer highway from the NLEX Bocaue Interchange, up to the proposed intermodal transport terminal (ITT) located near San Jose del Monte station.

Construction progress of Batasan Station along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City as of August 2018.

Construction along Commonwealth Avenue, December 2020.

Soil testing and surveying, including pre-construction related activities, were conducted in February 2016.[12] A groundbreaking event was held on April 20, 2016, and was attended by President Benigno Aquino III.[13] Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade expected the line to be finished by 2019,[14] but it was pushed back to 2020 because of right-of-way issues regarding the acquisition of a 33-hectare land for the San Jose del Monte Station, depot, and the intermodal transport terminal (ITT).[15]

Construction of Line 7 officially started on August 15, 2017, and has resulted in lane closures and heavy traffic along Commonwealth Avenue and Quirino Highway, both in Quezon City.[16][17][14] A total of 160 informal settler families shall be relocated to Tanay, Rizal and in Bulacan since they will be affected by the construction of the North Avenue and Quezon Memorial station.[14]

Groundbreaking for Batasan station was held on October 7, 2017,[18] while the excavation for the underground guideway at Quezon Memorial Circle is ongoing as of November 2017.[14] Construction of the station and rail track along North Avenue began on January 22, 2018.[19]

Nearly two years since the start of the construction of Line 7, works at the depot commenced on November 26, 2019 according to a statement by the DOTr.[20][21] After two years of court hearings and appeals to obtain a site, the original location of the depot in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan was moved to Quirino Highway in Barangay Greater Lagro, Quezon City. The relocation was found optimal for right-of-way, operational reliability, and maintenance.[20] The depot site was approved by Tugade on June 29, 2019, and the DOTr offered to buy the property from lot owners Century Properties Group, Inc. at the current market value, which was appraised by a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-accredited independent property appraiser.[22]

Originally, the site in Bulacan was subject to a legal case after the property owner questioned the expropriation at the Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 11. If it was pushed through, the cost of the project would have multiplied ninefold from ₱67.105 million to ₱598.905 million. Transport Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Oliveros-Libiran stated that it would take forever to resolve the case and it will no longer be pursued. The case in Bulacan has prompted San Miguel to conduct a scheduled partial operation of the line from North Avenue to a station in Fairview in 2021.[23]

Upon completion, it will have 14 stations along its route.

Name	Structure Type	Line transfers	Location
San Jose del Monte	Depressed	none	San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan
Tala	Elevated		Caloocan City
Sacred Heart	Elevated
Quirino	Elevated		Quezon City
Mindanao Avenue	Elevated
Regalado	Elevated
Doña Carmen	Elevated
Manggahan	At-Grade
Batasan	Elevated
Don Antonio	Elevated
Tandang Sora	Elevated
University Avenue	Depressed
Quezon Memorial	Depressed
North Avenue Grand Central Station	Elevated	LRT Line 1 3 MRT Line 3  MMS  Line 9 (Metro Manila Subway)