Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. is spending P45 billion this year to build new expressways in Metro Manila and Cebu.
MPTC chief financial officer Christoper Lizo said the capital expenditure for this year would be used to fund the construction of Cavite Laguna Expressway, NLEx-SLEx Connector Road, Cebu Cordova Link Expressway, C5 Expressway and R10 Section of NLEx Harbor Link Project.
“With the significant development in the right-of-way acquisition, we are confident that construction of the five projects can accelerate and completion can be finished earlier than expected,” Lizo said.
The company spent only P9 billion last year, amid the delay in the delivery of right of way for the projects.
MPCala on Dec. 21 signed a P24.2-billion loan with Banco De Oro Unibank Inc., Union Bank of the Philippines, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Security Bank Corp. and Land Bank of the Philippines.
The loan would partly cover the project cost and concession fee to the government.
MPCala is paying P27.3 billion in concession fee to the government for the construction of Calax.
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 Manila–Cavite Expressway and South Luzon Expressway.
The P35.43-billion expressway will start from Cavitex in Kawit, Cavite, and end at the SLEx-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.
Construction is expected to be completed by 2020, while operations and maintenance would last until 2050.
MPCala tapped Leighton Holdings of Australia to build the Cavite side and local contractor DMCI Consunji Inc. to construct the Laguna side.