MPTC to support government in economic recovery effort

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) has committed to play a major role in the country’s economic recovery through its various big-ticket projects, starting with today’s opening NLEX Harbor Link C3-R10 Section.

MPTC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the group wants to be part of the economic recovery program of the government, as the group targets to finish as many projects as it can before June 2022.

“Heeding the call of the President and those from Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Secretary Karl Chua about accelerating the Build Build Build as the government starts to relax the quarantine, we were mindful of that, that’s why we have resumed full blast the construction of the various tollways projects in Cebu and of course here in Metro Manila and Subic,” Pangilinan said.

“As the economic team has said, infrastructure has a very major multiplier effect in the economy so we’re mindful of that as well,” he said.

MPTC’s ongoing projects include the NLEX Connector, Cebu Cordova Link Expressway,  Cavite-Laguna Expressway, Subic Freeport Expressway Capacity Expansion, and heavy maintenance program for the Candaba Viaduct.

MPTC is opening today a 2.6-kilometer, four-lane elevated ramp that will extend NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 to Radial Road 10 (R-10), using C3 Road as its route.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said the project would reduce travel time from Port Area in Manila to NLEX from one hour and 30 minutes to just 10 minutes.

“When we opened this last year, we were not able to appreciate the full effect of the Harbor Link because C3, as you know, is very congested. So I’m excited that we will finally feel the full impact of this flagship project,” he said.

Villar said no toll increase would be made just yet as final toll rates are still being finalized.

“For the meantime, there won’t be any adjustment yet. But of course in the near future once we finalize the toll adjustment there will be a slight toll adjustment on the open system. It will be built into the whole system instead of individual toll on this particular section,” he said.

The NLEX Harbor Link C3-R10 Section was originally targeted for completion last March but was postponed after construction works were suspended for two months due to restrictions from the enhanced community quarantine.

The project is the first among the flagship infrastructure projects under the Build Build Build program to open since the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This project that we just completed is a good benchmark for how projects will be implemented in the new normal and we set the highest standards for safety and health,” NLEX president and general manager Luigi Bautista said.

“We were locked down but never knocked out. We were about 90 percent when we stopped construction of this piece of road last March 16. When the ECQ was relaxed around May 15, we immediately went to work to regain our momentum and finish the remaining 10 percent of the work in about four weeks’ time,” he said.

With today’s opening, Villar said the DPWH is now looking at MPTC’s proposal to extend the Harbor Link from C3 corner Navotas interchange all the way to Anda Circle.

“That’s something we’re looking at right now. Since they’ve finished this extension, logically, because there is an opportunity to extend it further to up to the area in Anda Circle,” he said.