Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte look at each other before the 20th ASEAN-Japan Summit in Manila, November 13 2017. Ezra Acayan, Reuters, Pool

MANILA – (UPDATE) The Philippines and Japan on Monday exchanged notes on Japanese assistance for infrastructure, including Metro Manila's first subway.

President Rodrigo Duterte and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe witnessed the signing of the diplomatic notes on the sidelines of their bilateral meeting in Manila late Monday.

A loan agreement is expected to be signed in January after the exchange of notes, according to a timeline of of the subway from the Department of Transportation.

The Japanese government will provide 104.53 billion yen (P46 billion) for the first phase of the project, which is expected to transport approximately 500,000 passengers per day by 2027.

The subway will run from Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to Food Terminal Inc. in Taguig City and may be extended to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The exchange of notes also covered a 9.4-billion yen (P4 billion) loan for the "Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway" from Plaridel, Bulacan to Manila and a 2.5-billion (P1 billion) yen grant to rebuild war-tor Marawi City.

Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said these 3 projects were part of Tokyo’s financial support to the Philippines worth 1 trillion yen over the next 5 years.