Cavitex investment pays off for MVP group

MANILA, Philippines  – The P6.8 billion investment on Manila Cavite Toll Expressway (Cavitex) is already paying off for the infrastructure arm of Manuel Pangilinan-led conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC). 

An official of MPIC unit Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) said the increase in traffic in Cavitex since the group took over management of the 14-kilometer expressway in January would help the tollroad company achieve its P8 billion revenue target for 2013.

“We are on track because of Cavitex,” MPTC chief financial officer Christopher Daniel Lizo recently told reporters. 

MPTC started to  provide management assistance in January 2, 2013 to Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC, formerly UEM-Mara Philippines Corp). CIC operates and maintains Cavitex, which connects two key areas south of Metro Manila: Cavite and Laguna.  

Toll revenues of MPTC jumped 20% to P4.1 billion in the first 6 months of 2013 from P3.42 billion a year ago, largely due to Cavitex’s contribution, Lizo said. 

Accross MPTC’s portfolio of tollroads, average vehicle entries grew by 5% to 173,175 a day from 164,415.  

These boosted MPTC’s core income by 27% in the first half of 2013. It reported P1.03 billion against the P810 million it achieved a year ago.

MPTC operates 64% of the existing total 300 kilometers of tollroads in the Philippines. Aside from Cavitex, which connects capital Manila to areas in the south, it also operates the 85-km North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the 94-km Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressway (SCTEX). Both move people and goods between Metro Manila and areas in the north and central Luzon. 

MPTC has earlier allotted some P41-billion budget for major road projects in the next 5 years. 

It is currently completing 5.6-kilometer Segment 10 road that links Mindanao Avenue and North Harbor via North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), McArthur Highway and C3 Road.

Completion of the 2.4-kilometer Segment 9, which links NLEx to MacArthur Highway, is also underway.

Both connect or feed traffic to the 13.4 NLEx-SLEx Connector Road Project that aims to ease Metro Manila traffic. – Rappler.com