The Transportation Department is open to allowing the group of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. to implement toll adjustments on a staggered basis to resolve an arbitration case filed in Singapore.
“It would be settled soon,” Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade said, when asked about the updates on the arbitration case filed by NLEX Corp. and Cavitex Infrastructure Corp.
“We are still in discussion because there’s an arbitration case. Based on the arbitration case, the toll increase is contractual and because it’s contractual the accrued amount is P6 billion,” he added.
Tugade, however, said there was no decision yet on the toll hike increase at North Luzon Expressway and Manila-Cavite Expressway.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. senior vice president for legal and regulatory affairs Romulo Quimbo Jr. earlier said that both parties were in favor of a shorter resolution of the arbitration case.
NLEX and Cavitex each issued a notice of arbitration and statement of claim to the government last year to obtain compensation amounting to about P3 billion for NLEX and P877 million for Cavitex.
The total claims for overdue toll rate adjustment hit P6 billion as of April.
NLEX also filed last month a toll adjustment at North Luzon Expressway to recover its P2.9-billion investment on road widening.
NLEX, based on a petition filed with the Toll Regulatory Board, wanted to add P0.26 per kilometer on the current P2.37 per km closed system toll rates for class 1 vehicles (cars, jeepneys, pickup trucks and vans).
For class 2 vehicles (two-axle trucks, buses and vans), NLEX requested for an additional P0.66 per km on the current P5.94 per km and class 3 vehicles (trucks and trailers with three or more axles).
NLEX president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said the toll adjustment petition was of “extreme urgency” as the company would continue to suffer “great damage or irreparable injury “before a decision on the matter could be rendered by TRB.
“Failure to immediately impose and collect the adjusted toll rates would result to an outright delay or stoppage of urgently needed improvements and expansion of the NLEX,” he said.
“These accumulated tariff adjustments now represent material shortfall to the cash flow of MPTC and are constraining our ability to finance road construction necessary for continued economic growth,” parent Metro Pacific Tollways Corp earlier said.
MPTC will spend P125 billion in the next five years to build highways and toll roads around the Philippines to help ease traffic decongestion.
The company reported a core net income of P1 billion in the first three months, up 28 percent from P700 million a year earlier.