The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) said it expects to approve P328 billion worth of expressway projects from San Miguel Corp. within the first quarter of 2025.
“This quarter, the target of the TRB is to approve the final engineering design and issue the notice to proceed for the NALEX, SALEX and TR 5 Segment 1,” TRB executive director Alvin Carullo said.
The proposed P152-billion Southern Access Link Expressway (SALEX) is a 40.65-kilometer elevated expressway network comprising of the Shoreline Expressway and three Metro Manila Skyway Stage (MMSS3) extensions including C3-R10 Extension, Quirino Extension and Buendia Extension.
The P148.3-billion Northern Access Link Expressway (NALEX) is composed of two phases. NALEX Phase 1 is a proposed 136.4-kilometer road that would provide connectivity between the Metro/Mega Manila, the New Manila International Airport (NMIA) and Central Luzon as an extension and/or linkage of the Metro Manila Skyway-Stage 3 at Balintawak.
NALEX Phase 2 is a demand-driven expansion from Masantol, Pampanga to Tarlac City.
The P28.15-billion SLEX TR5 Segment 1 alignment, meanwhile, starts at the termination point of the SLEX Phase II as the Toll Road 4 (TR4) Project from Barangay Mayao, Lucena City to Gumaca, Quezon.
The total length of Segment 1 is about 61 km. It will include four interchanges (Pagbilao, Atimonan, Aglangan and Gumaca) as well as the toll plazas and operation center that will be necessary for the operation of Segment 1 thereof.
SMC Tollways Corp., a tollway unit of San Miguel, is also building the 66.74-kilometer SLEX Toll Road 4 that would connect Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City in Quezon province.
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 shorten the travel time from Sto. Tomas to Barangay Mayao in Lucena from the usual three hours to 45 minutes.
San Miguel also signed a memorandum of agreement with Metro Pacific Investments Corp. last year to jointly undertake the construction, operation and maintenance of the 87.96-kilometer Cavite-Batangas Expressway and Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway.
SMC’s expressways include the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the Skyway System and the NAIA Expressway (NAIAX).