Meralco to complete relocation of facilities in NAIA Expressway

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) hopes to complete the relocation of its facilities affected by the P15.8-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (NAIAX) project by September to avoid delays for the project.

As of last month, only six locations are left with right-of-way (ROW) issues, said Ronnie Aperocho, Meralco vice president and head of networks.

“But we’re hoping that by August or second half of September, we can complete everything with close coordination with stakeholders, particularly the DMCI group, San Miguel group and DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways),” he said.

In June, a DPWH official said the relocation of Meralco facilities was among the causes of delay for the completion of NAIAX.

Other causes of delay include the planned pedestrian overpass bridge of Resorts World Manila connecting to NAIA Terminal 3 and ROW issues near the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA).

The first phase of Phase 2A of NAIAX was scheduled to be completed last April but was deferred to October in time for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit on Nov. 18 and 19.

The second phase of Phase 2B, on the other hand, was supposed to be finished by October this year but has been moved to March 2016.

Aperocho said Meralco encountered difficulty in relocating its facilities due to the difficult conditions in the area.

He said these include “heavy traffic, limited working hours and limited working spaces, the difficulty of getting permits from concerned barangays, numerous changes in the designs as well as right of way issues with private landowners in the area.”

“In fact there’s a weekly meeting discussing all of these problems that have been encountered,” Aperocho said.

Meralco has 197 facilities that will be affected by the Phase 2A of the project, of which 175 have been relocated.

Meanwhile, the company has 143 facilities that need to be relocated for the Phase 2B, with 123 already been moved.

The four-lane, 7.75 km elevated NAIAX would provide access to NAIA Terminals 1, 2 and 3, connect the Skyway system, the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (Cavitex), and the Entertainment City of state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).