A unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. secured the original proponent status from the Public Works Department for the P22.4 billion Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway project.
“We are glad to award the original proponent status to Metro Pacific Tollways South. Their commitment to nation-building is commendable,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.
MPTC South became the first company that was granted an original proponent status for a new expressway under the Duterte administration.
CTBex is a 50.4-kilometer expressway that will connect Cavite and Batangas, with a spur road to Tagaytay City and ultimately terminating in Nasugbu, with another spur road to Tuy, Batangas.
Villar said CTBEX would decongest about 23,000 vehicles daily from existing thoroughfare.
“Our objective in proposing this road is connectivity, providing thousands of motorists an alternative route to and from Region 4A. It is sensible connection to CaLaEx [Cavite-Laguna Expressway], as both alignments will decongest traffic in Cavite, Laguna and Batangas,” MPTC South president and chief executive Luigi Bautista said.
“This awarding of the original proponent status of CTBEX is just the beginning, we are cognizant that this proposal will still be subject to NEDA approval, successful negotiation with DPWH on the terms on the concession and lastly, a Swiss Challenge; al of which should be completed by the second quarter of 2019,” he said.
Bautista said construction of the project was expected to start by 2020, subject to the acquisition of right of way. Completion date is 2022.
Once completed, the project would cut travel time from Sta. Rosa, Laguna to Nasugbu, Batangas from 2.5 hours to just an hour.
The project will start at Silang East Interchange of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway. The alignment will traverse the towns of Silang, Amadeo, Mendez, Alfonso and Tagaytay in Cavite and Nasugbu in Batangas.
MPTC South is also constructing the P35-billon CaLaEx”•a four-lane, 47-kilometer closed-system toll expressway connecting Cavitex and South Luzon Expressway.
The expressway will start from Cavitex in Kawit, Cavite and end at SLEx-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.
The company is also building the P26-billion Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway project, an 8.25-km bridge that will connect Cebu City to Mactan Island via Cordova. The project is expected to be completed by 2020.
Parent Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. is building the NLEx-SLEx Connector Road, an eight-kilometer, four-lane toll road linking the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway, passing through Metro Manila and using the existing Philippine National Railway alignment as the route.
The MPIC Group operates the North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Tarlac Expressway and Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway.