The Public Works Department said it began reviewing the proposal of NLEX Corp. to build a 5.1-kilometer elevated expressway from Navotas to Anda Circle in Port Area, Manila.
“We started reviewing it, but we’re still waiting for the full-blown proposal. It might be in the form of unsolicited proposal [or] it could be an extension of the concession agreement. That is why we are studying it,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.
NLEX said the proposed project called Harbor Link Port Access Mobility Facility would cost between P15 billion and P16 billion.
NLEX is currently building the 2.6-km Harbor Link (R10 Section) which is expected to be completed by March next year.
It also started the construction of an 8-kilometer toll road linking the tail of NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 in C3 Road, Caloocan City to PUP Sta. Mesa, Manila which would mostly traverse the Philippine National Railways track.
NLEX Corp., the operator of North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, earlier reported a net income of P4.25 billion in the first nine months, up 25 percent from P3.4 billion in the same period last year.
The company attributed the increase in the net profit to higher toll revenues in both NLEX and SCTEX and more efficient utilization of resources covering toll operations and maintenance costs.
Toll revenues during the period reached P9.6 billion, up 14 percent from a year earlier amid the steady increase in traffic and steady growth in non-toll revenues.
The average daily traffic in NLEX reached 250,992 daily entries, or 7.6 percent higher than 233,332 daily entries recorded in the same period last year.
The average daily traffic at SCTEx also increased 14.3 percent to 61,071 daily entries from 53,407 last year.
NLEX currently spans 95 kilometers or 527-lane kilometers, serving an average of 237,046 vehicles a day in 2017. It is the main infrastructure backbone that connects Metro Manila to Central and Northern Luzon.
SCTEX is a 94-km, 2×2 expressway stretching from Subic-Tipo until La Paz, Tarlac, connecting the special economic zones in Subic and Clark, Olongapo City, to Tarlac City.
