The tollway unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is open to an out-of-court settlement with the government to expedite the resolution of the P6-billion compensation claim, stemming from the regulator’s failure to approve toll increases since 2013, an executive said Tuesday.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. senior vice president for legal and regulatory affairs Romulo Quimbo Jr. said that both parties were in favor of a shorter resolution of the arbitration case.
Quimbo said the preliminary trial for the arbitration case was set on June 27 in Singapore.
NLEx Corp. and Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. each issued a notice of arbitration and statement of claim to the government last year to obtain compensation amounting to about P3 billion for NLEx and P877 million for Cavitex.
The total claims for overdue toll rate adjustment hit P6 billion as of April.
NLEx also filed last month a toll adjustment at North Luzon Expressway to recover its P2.9-billion investment on road widening.
NLEx, based on a petition filed with the Toll Regulatory Board, wanted to add P0.26 per kilometer on the current P2.37 per km closed system toll rates for class 1 vehicles (cars, jeepneys, pickup trucks and vans).
For class 2 vehicles (two-axle trucks, buses and vans), NLEx requested for additional P0.66 per km on the current P5.94 per km and class 3 vehicles (trucks and trailers with three or more axles).
NLEx president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said the toll adjustment petition was of “extreme urgency” as the company would continue to suffer “great damage or irreparable injury “before a decision on the matter could be rendered by TRB.
“Failure to immediately impose and collect the adjusted toll rates would result to an outright delay or stoppage of urgently needed improvements and expansion of the NLEx,” he said.