The tollway unit of San Miguel Corp. said it is spending P9.49 billion this year to partly finance the construction of a toll road from Batangas to Quezon and repair South Luzon Expressway.
SMC SLEX Inc. said its board approved the 2022 capital expenditure of P9.49 billion, including P8.46 billion to fund the TR4 project.
The company in March 2019 started the construction of the 66.74-kilometer SLEX Toll Road 4 that would connect Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City, Quezon.
The toll road will shorten the travel time from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Barangay Mayao in Lucena City from the usual three hours to just 45 minutes.
The P26.1-billion project is expected to be completed by 2026. TR4 is a part of SLTC’s 30-year concession which will last until 2036.
The toll road will be divided into six sections, including Sto Tomas, Batangas to Makban in Laguna (11.32 km); Makban to San Pablo City (12.75 km); San Pablo to Tiaong in Quezon (7.5 km); Tiaong to Candelaria (15 km); Candelaria to Tayabas (10.21 km); and Tayabas to Lucena (9.96 km).
SMC SLEX also allocated P417 million for periodic maintenance of SLEX and P714 million for the acquisition of equipment for its Seamless Tollway Project.
The company booked a net income of P2.61 billion last year, up 50 percent from P1.75 billion in 2020.
Toll revenues amounted to P5.57 billion, higher by 22 percent than P4.55 billion in 2020.
“SLEX traffic volume have shown a recovery after travel restrictions were eased in NCR and Southern Luzon and the resumption of economic activities in 2021,” the company said.
SMC signed a supplemental toll operation agreement with the Transportation and the Public Works departments in 2021 for the construction of the P95-billion Pasig River Expressway―an elevated hybrid highway that will stretch 19.37 kilometers along the banks of Pasig River from Manila to Taguig.
The PAREX will have three major segments. Segment 1 would run from R-10 to Plaza Azul, Manila; Segment 2 from Pandacan to C-5; and Segment 3 from C-5 to C6. PAREX will also connect to and utilize a 2.7-km. portion of the new Skyway Stage 3, from Nagtahan to Plaza Azul.