NLEX operator to extend toll road to Commonwealth Ave

MANILA, Philippines – The tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation will spend P8.6 billion ($191.03 million) to extend North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) to Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) president and CEO Rodrigo Franco told reporters that the project cost of NLEX Segment 8.2 is at P8.6 billion ($191.03 million). The Department of Public Works and Highways  would finance the right-of-way delivery, costing around P1.9 billion ($42.21 million).

The 7.85-kilometer extension of NLEX will start from Mindanao Avenue to Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

Franco said the NLEX extension is seen to decongest Metro Manila by providing alternative access to mainline NLEX further east of Metro Manila, bypassing Edsa and the Balintawak toll plaza.

“It will Improve transport logistics and operational efficiency with more efficient movement of trucks and haulers in and out of the ports located in Manila,” Franco said.

The construction of the NLEX extension, according to Franco, will start in the second half of 2015, and end in 2019.

Asked where the project stands today, Franco said, “We’re now talking with the LGU [local government unit] of Quezon City and DPWH so we can clear the right of way.”

In June, MNTC started the construction of the P11.5-billion ($255.45 million) Segment 10 of NLEX. It is targeted for completion by the third quarter of 2016.

For Segment 10, traffic is seen to reach 30,000 vehicles a day, Franco said.

MNTC has also proposed the P18-billion ($399.63 million) NLEX-South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Connector Road project, which will be up for grabs by its proponents in the third quarter of the year.

The connector road deal will include a 5-kilometer common alignment from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines campus to Buendia in Makati City.

The common alignment is financed by Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corporation, which is also constructing its own connector road: the P26.7-billion ($593.07-million) Skyway Stage 3 Project.

The NLEX-SLEX connector road is expected to be completed by 2017, about a year later than its original target of June 2015. – Rappler.com

$1=P45.01