South Luzon Tollways Corp. said Wednesday net income in the first quarter of 2018 rose just 1 percent to P723.3 million from P712.81 year-on-year on higher maintenance costs.
The tollway unit of San Miguel Corp. posted revenues of P1.47 billion in the first three months of the year, up 6 percent from P1.39 billion a year ago.
“The continuous expansion of housing communities and consumer socio-economic activities in the South contributed to the increase in traffic volume,” SLTC said.
“These developments enhanced the volume for class 1 vehicles. Traffic volume for Class 3 vehicles also went up mainly due to the thriving Calabarzon, the second most densely populated region after NCR, Batangas, in particular, has the second largest international seaport in Luzon,” it added.
The company registered expenses of P386.14 million in the first quarter from P373.73 million in the same period last year.
Earlier, SLTC said it would be spending P14.85 billion to extend South Luzon Expressway by more than 56 kilometers from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Tayabas, Quezon.
The board of SLTC approved the implementation of all works for the SLEx Phase 2 Toll Road 4 project and the plan to negotiate with contractors for the engineering, procurement and construction contracts.
The project is a 56.87-kilometer, four-lane road from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Tayabas/Lucena in Quezon.
The project is divided into five sections. Section 1 covers Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Macban, Laguna (11.32 km); Macban, Laguna to San Pablo, Laguna (12.2 km); San Pablo, Laguna to Tiaong, Quezon (7.5-km); Tiaong to Candelaria, Quezon (15 km) and Candelaria to Tayabas/Lucena, Quezon (10.93 km).
SLTC said the project would reduce travel time along the 58-kilometer stretch between Sto. Tomas and Lucena from four hours to one hour.
The company said the project would enhance the economic efficiency of SLEx and in meeting the increasing demand of traffic volume due to the rapid growth population, urbanization and economic development of Quezon province and adjoining provinces.
The project is expected to be completed by 2021.