MPCALA Holdings Inc., a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., said Tuesday it expects to complete the entire 45-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway by early 2023.
MPCALA and the Department of Public Works and Highways inaugurated the fourth section of the project with the opening of the CALAX Silang East Interchange Section, extending the operating sections from 10 kilometers to 14.24 km.
CALAX is a P56-billion road infrastructure project granted by DPWH to MHI, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. It is a high-speed road network connecting the provinces of Cavite and Laguna, aiming to serve around 45,000 motorists upon completion.
“We are grateful for the trust and continued partnership with the government of the Philippines in providing the much-needed mobility infrastructure in the form of CALAX to help boost tourism and economic activity in the CALABARZON,” said MPT South president and general manager Roberto Bontia.
With the completion of the Silang East of CALAX, motorists can travel from Mamplasan in Biñan, Laguna to Silang East, exiting at Tibig Road.
The newly-opened Silang East Interchange will serve 5,000 motorists and help decongest traffic coming from Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road.
“CALAX is included in the Luzon Spine Expressway Network–a master plan aimed at increasing the high standard highway network by three-fold. We are now closer to our dream of connecting the northernmost part of Luzon to its southernmost portion,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.
“We are confident that we will be able to deliver majority of this high-impact project within the term of President Rodrigo Duterte,” he said.
As approved by the Toll Regulatory Board, the toll at CALAX will range from P14 to P 64 for Class 1 vehicles, P29 to P128 for Class 2 vehicles, and P43 to P192 for Class 3 vehicles, depending on the vehicle’s entry and exit point.
Upon completion of the entire project, it will have several interchanges located at the following locations: Kawit, Governor’s Drive, Open Canal, Silang (Aguinaldo) Highway, Silang East, Santa Rosa-Tagaytay, Laguna Boulevard, and Laguna Technopark.
It will cut travel time between Cavite and Laguna from 2 hours to under an hour. It was also previously lauded by Toll Regulatory Board for its advanced features and regarded as the country’s most advanced toll road.
CALAX was designed to be a green and sustainable highway. Aside from the array of flora and green spaces that surround the expressway, which is intended to absorb carbon emissions of vehicles, the expressway uses LED lighting systems and renewable solar energy to power its toll plazas, toll equipment and systems, and operations management center.