San Miguel to start building Southeast Metro Manila Expressway in April

MANILA, Philippines – The travel time from Quezon City to Taguig City is expected to be cut to 35 minutes once concessionaire San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is done with construction of the 34-kilometer Southeast Metro Manila Expressway (SEMME).

The SEMME will begin in the south with a connection to the existing Skyway Stage 1 in FTI, Taguig City, and end at the Batasan Complex in Quezon City. It will eventually connect to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) via Balagtas.

SMC unit Citra Intercity Tollways Incorporated will start building the expressway this coming April. (READ: San Miguel awaits gov’t OK for 3-year toll road network expansion)

“We’re very glad to be starting 2018 on a very positive note. Because of the hard work of our partners in government, we will finally be able to proceed with this vital infrastructure project,” SMC president Ramon Ang said in a statement.

SMC, together with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), on Monday, January 8, broke ground for the SEMME.

The expressway is expected to decongest roads in Manila and Quezon City, particularly major roads such as EDSA, C5, Ortigas Avenue, and Ortigas Extension.

Motorists from Metro Manila and the south would also have faster access to the country’s major airport terminals.

The SEMME is part of the much larger Metro Manila C6 Expressway Project, which will extend all the way to San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan.

The first section of the 6-lane SEMME will be from Skyway 1 in FTI, Taguig City to C5/Diego Silang, set for completion by 2020.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the C6 Expressway Project was “made possible with the full cooperation and support of concerned national and local government agencies and the private sector.” – Rappler.com