The soon-to-rise Acienda Designer Outlet mall, located in the Silang-Tagaytay growth corridor, recently got a boost with an announcement from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that the Aguinaldo interchange of the Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway (CTBEx) project will be located beside the facility. DPWH Sec. Mark Villar (Seen here at center) attended an event at the site which awarded Metro Pacific Tollways South Management Corporation (MPTC) the original proponent status for the CTBEx project, a 50.42-kilometer highway that will connect the West Silang Interchange of the ongoing Cavite-Laguna Expressway to Tagaytay City and Nasugbu. The project, estimated to cost P22.43 billion, will have another seven main interchanges including Silang East, Pook, Amadeo, Mendez, Alfonso, Magallanes and Nasugbu. According to MPT South chief financial officer Christopher Lizo, at least two sections of the CTBEx are expected to open by 2022. “The project will cut travel time to Nasugbu, Batangas, where the usual trip of one hour and 42 minutes will be shortened to 44 minutes, while traveling to Tagaytay through Sta. Rosa will take only about an hour instead of two and a half hours,” Villar explained. Acienda designer outlet will be divided into four clusters designed to offer shopping and dining at affordable prices. It is a partnership between Cathay Land and international Outlet developer and operator Freeport Retail from the UK.
