A unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. plans to start the construction of the P34.5-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway in the first quarter of 2017, ahead of the original schedule.
Based on MPCala Holdings Inc.’s project timeline, the construction of the Laguna segment of Calax is scheduled in the first quarter of 2017, earlier than the original target of July next year.
Construction of the rest of the project sections will start by the third quarter of 2017.
MPCala tapped DMCI Consunj Inc. to construct the Laguna side of the project, while Leighton Holdings of Australia will build the Cavite side.
Construction is expected to be completed by 2019, also earlier than the original target of 2020, while operations and maintenance would be from 2020 to 2050.
Calax, one of the largest public-private partnership projects, involves the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of a four-lane, 47-kilometer closed-system toll expressway connecting Cavitex and South Luzon Expressway.
The P34.5-billion expressway will start from Cavitex in Kawit, Cavite and end at the SLEx-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.
Aside from Calax, the Metro Pacific group is currently constructing Segment 10 of North Luzon Expressway Harbor 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 in the second half of 2017.
Other MPIC’s projects are the P2.6-billion Segment 2 and 3 of NLEx Road-Widening Project to accommodate growing traffic, which started on March 9.
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.
TRB also issued a conditional notice to proceed with the construction of the C5 Link Expressway, part of the existing Cavitex network and a P10-billion project spanning 7.6 kilometers to link C-5 Road in Taugig to R-1 (Coastal) Expressway. Construction is expected to start by the first quarter of 2017 upon approval of the final engineering design.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. also 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 project, set to be completed by 2020, will connect Cebu City to Mactan Island via Cordova.
The group is also building an elevated expressway to connect the northern and southern toll road systems at a cost of P18 billion.
