By Lorenz S. Marasigan
INFRASTRUCTURE holdings company Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is planning to link all the expressways that it operates to provide seamless travel to motorists.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) President Ramoncito S. Fernandez said the company plans to integrate the future Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax) with the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (Cavitex), once it gets the go signal from the government to start building the multibillion-peso highway.
Currently, the company is also connecting the North Luzon (Nlex) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressways (Sctex) under a P600-million project.
“Once completed, Calax will integrate with Cavitex and will feature the same modern facilities of MPTC’s existing toll roads. This is in line with our vision of eventually linking all our expressways— including the soon to be integrated Nlex-Sctex, Harbor Link—providing seamless travel experience to motorists,” Fernandez said.
Harbor Link is essentially the extension of the Nlex to the pier area in Manila to decongest the ports in the capital.
Calax, a 47-kilometer highway that will link Cavitex and the South Luzon Expressway, is expected to be completed by 2020. It is aimed at enhancing trade and socioeconomic activities in the region.
“The project is expected to directly generate more than 3,000 new jobs during the construction. This does not include the thousands of new jobs from the expected new investments along the Cavite-Laguna corridor from the improved infrastructure. Living standards of people in remote areas along the alignment with the improved transportation of goods and increased access to social services,” Fernandez added.
MPCALA Holdings Inc., a unit of the infrastructure conglomerate, topped the rebidding for the multibillion-peso deal with a P27.3-billion premium bid, edging out the P22.2-billion premium offered by the San Miguel Corp.’s Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc.
The flagship of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd. is the country’s largest expressway operator.
Fernandez earlier said his company is encouraging both the government and the private sector to jointly work on doubling the toll roads all over the country to 600 kilometers from the current 300 km.
The company, he added, hopes to contribute half of the projects 600-kilometer growth.
1 comment
While this news is very encouraging and hopefully would be operational in the next three years, the ordinary motorists would be burdened with hefty toll fees just to traverse the Luzon regions from North to South.