The Toll Regulatory Board said Friday it approved a provisional toll of P264 for Class 1 vehicles traversing the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 Project of San Miguel Corp. from Buendia in Makati City to North Luzon Expressway.
It said for Class 1 vehicles such as cars, jeepneys, vans and pick-ups, the toll from Buendia to Sta. Mesa would be P105; Sta. Mesa to Ramon Magsaysay, P30; Ramon Magsaysay to NLEX Balintawak, P129; and Buendia to NLEX Balintawak, P264.
Class 2 vehicles such as buses, trucks, and cars with trailers would pay twice as much, while Class 3 vehicles including large trucks and trucks with trailers would pay thrice the rates.
“The provisional toll fee matrix will be published once a week for three consecutive weeks and a bond will be required to be posted by the petitioner,” the regulator said.
“Please note, however, that the approval of provisional toll rates does not automatically mean that the proponent may immediately be given the authority to start collecting toll fees,” it said.
The TRB said that before an authority to collect or toll operating permit would be issued to the operator, the latter should follow the procedures and requirements under the supplemental toll operation agreement.
It said the project should be “substantially completed” or at least 95-percent complete. “An assessment was submitted by an independent consultant earlier this month stating that the facility is already 97 percent. This assessment is now subject to evaluation and validation by the board,” the TRB said.
The project should also conform to the approved final engineering design, show that it is capable of being operated safely and commercially and have the toll road facilities installed.
“The installation of toll collection equipment and system, which are needed to collect tolls, by the Central Metro Manila Skyway Corporation, is ongoing,” the TRB said.
“A joint testing amongst the TRB, the proponent, and independent consultant will commence on Monday, 29 March 2021, in areas where installation was completed, to ensure that there are no system glitches or flaws to avoid a repeat of the RFID problems we had in the past,” it said.
The TRB said that upon compliance with the requirements, the publication of the toll fee matrix and posting of the required bond, a TOP may be issued together with the notice to start collection.
“Rest assured that it is the position of the Toll Regulatory Board, composed of the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Finance and the National Economic Development Authority, to always come up with a decision that will be fair to the motorists, to the project proponent, and, to the Filipino people,” the TRB said.
San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang earlier asked the Department of Transportation to approve the toll on Skyway 3 to recoup the more than P80 billion that the conglomerate spent to build the project.
“Skyway 3 was built at no cost to the government. SMC fully funded the over P80 billion cost to build it. After years of hard work, we opened it last December 29, so we can start serving the public for free, for a reasonable amount of time,” Ang said.
“Skyway 3 is new, but heavy everyday use causes it to deteriorate if not maintained properly. We spend a lot for its upkeep, and at the same time lose a lot in foregone revenues. We cannot operate this and serve people if the project is not generating revenues,” Ang said earlier.
