The tollway unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is raising about P50 billion from bank loans next year to finance major toll road projects.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said the company would use proceeds of the loans to partially finance the construction of the Cavite Laguna Expressway, Cebu Cordova Link Expressway project, NLEX-SLEX Connector Road and C5 Link Expressway.
Franco said MPTC was in talks with local banks to secure the loans.
MPCala Holdings Inc. earlier tapped DMCI Consunj Inc. to build the Laguna side of Calax and Leighton Holdings of Australia to construct the Cavite portion.
Construction is expected to start in the third quarter of the year with completion set by 2019. The tollroad is covered by an operations and maintenance contract from 2020 until 2050.
Calax involves the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of a four-lane, 47-kilometer closed-system toll expressway connecting Cavitex and South Luzon Expressway.
MPTC is also constructing Cavitex C5 South Expressway, linking C5 and Merville, Parañaque by way of a flyover. A second phase will connect Merville and Cavitex.
The company is also building the P27.9-billion Cebu-Cordova Bridge project, a 8.25-km bridge project that will connect Cebu City to Mactan Island via Cordova. The project is expected to be completed by 2020.
MPTC is constructing the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road, an eight-kilometer, four-lane toll road linking the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway, passing through Metro Manila and using the existing Philippine National Railway alignment as its route.
MPIC Group operates the North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway.