Manila North Tollways Corp. plans to start the expansion of the North Luzon Expressway to Bataan province by 2018, a top executive said over the weekend.
“We are just restarting the feasibility study. It’s a 44-kilometer road that’s in our original concession. It would be from Apalit in Pampanga to Tipo in Bataan,” MNTC president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said.
Franco said the project suffered delay after the alignment was affected by the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo.
“We may need to divert the alignment. We need an approval from the Toll Regulatory Board. If ever, we can start it by 2018,” Franco said. He said the original project cost was P10 billion.
Franco said once completed, the project would be connected to Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.
MNTC is currently constructing Segment 10 of NLEx Harbour Link, a 5.6-km elevated expressway costing P10.5 billion and running from Valenzuela City to C3 in Caloocan City. The project is expected to be completed by the second half of 2017.
Other MNTC projects are the P2.6-billion Segment 2 and 3 NLEx road-widening project to accommodate growing vehicle traffic.
The project will expand the existing two-lane portion of NLEx between Sta. Rita and San Fernando to three lanes on both the northbound and southbound sides, while the current one-lane stretch between Dau and Sta. Ines will be expanded to two lanes in each direction.
The Toll Regulatory Board issued a conditional notice to proceed with the construction of C5 Link Expressway, which is a part of the existing Cavitex network and a P10-billion project spanning 7.6 kilometers to link C-5 Road in Taguig to R-1 (Coastal) Expressway. Construction is expected to start by the first quarter of 2017 upon approval of the final engineering design.
The Public Works Department continues to secure rights of way for the Cavite-Laguna Expressway whose construction is expected to begin by next year. Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the parent company of MNTC, was awarded the 35-year CALAx concession in 2015.
MPTC signed a joint venture agreement with the city of Cebu and the municipality of Cordova in April 2016 to build the P27.9-billion Cebu-Cordova bridge project. The 8.25-km bridge set to be completed by 2020 will connect Cebu City and Mactan Island via Cordova.
MNTC is also awaiting the notice of award from the Public Works Department to build an elevated expressway to connect the Northern and Southern toll road systems at a cost of P18 billion.