The tollway unit of San Miguel Corp. has asked the Toll Regulatory Board to approve toll adjustments for additional works on the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR).
In a filing with TRB, Star Infrastructure Development Corp. is seeking an additional toll of P1.361 per kilometer at STAR covering 41.9 kilometers of four-lane expressway from Sto. Tomas to Lipa, Batangas province, and two lanes from Lipa to Balagtas.
The expressway, which has six interchanges, starts at the intersection of Maharlika Highway and the South Luzon Expressway in Sto. Tomas, Batangas and runs south to Balagtas City.
“There is an urgent and compelling need for SIDC to be able to implement the adjusted toll rate pursuant to the provisionally approved additional rate of P1.36 per km as there has been no adjustment, periodic or otherwise in the STAR toll rate since 2011,” the company said.
“More importantly, the requested adjustment is necessary to enable SIDC to meet its amortization schedules on the financing obtained for the additional works and to allow SIDC to continue operating and maintaining the STAR as a viable endeavor and at the same time continuing to provide adequate, reliable and efficient level of service,” it added.
San Miguel’s infrastructure unit, San Miguel Holdings Corp., and Philippine National Construction Corp. earlier signed an agreement to jointly undertake the expansion of toll roads under their existing joint venture worth P554 billion.
The expanded road network will include extension of the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 project and the Metro Manila Expressway, or C6/Skyway Stage 4.
Under the agreement, SMHC and PNCC will build the San Pedro-C6 Laguna Lake Road, extending the South Luzon Expressway from San Pedro, Laguna and passing along the shores of Laguna Lake and ending at C6 in Taguig.
Other projects are Tanauan-Tagaytay Expressway or Sky 8; TR5 which will extend SLEx from the end of TR4 in Pagbilao, Quezon to Matnog, Sorsogon; Sky 7, which will connect Taguig to Commonwealth Ave. in Quezon City; Buendia Interchange and Ramp Extension to Macapagal Boulevard; and Sky 9 or the Pasig River Alignment, which will include ramps to Buendia, Pioneer and Bonifacio Global City.
San Miguel and PNCC are also studying a plan to develop a P700-billion expressway that will connect Quezon, Bicol and Samar in Leyte.