NLEX hiring over 1,500 workers for connector road

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. unit NLEX Corp. is hiring more than 1,500 technical and skilled workers to accelerate the construction of the P23 billion NLEX Connector.

NLEX president and general manager Luigi Bautista said priority is being given to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been displaced and unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Being a government partner in infrastructure building, NLEX Corp. and the entire Metro Pacific Tollways group are keen in helping the economy recover from the adverse effects of the pandemic.

With our ongoing projects, we can create more opportunities for people thus propel growth in the country,” Bautista said.

Bautista said the company is mobilizing more construction equipment to improve productivity at the site and speed up the construction of the project.

“We are currently working on the first five-kilometer section of the NLEX Connector from Grace Park, Caloocan City to España Street, Sampaloc, Manila.

As projected, more than 1,500 workers are needed to accelerate the construction works,” he said.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Labor and Employment have advised companies involved in the Build Build Build program to extend employment assistance to repatriated OFWs, especially those who were previously employed in construction.

“We are looking at our massive infrastructure projects as key employment generators.

Apart from building roads and bridges to spur economic development, this administration’s Build Build Build program is also geared towards providing livelihood to fellow Filipinos,” DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said.

The eight-kilometer NLEX Connector is expected to be completed next year.

The project aims to significantly cut travel time from NLEX to South Luzon Expressway from two hours to about 20 minutes, and
provide improved accessibility for cargo trucks bound for the Manila Ports (North and South Harbor) and the international airports such as NAIA and Clark.

The all-vehicle class elevated expressway will traverse the Caloocan Interchange, 5th Avenue/C3 Road in Caloocan City pass through España, and eventually link up with the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 at PUP Sta. Mesa in Manila.

NLEX is the builder-concessionaire and operator of two major expressways that link Metro Manila to North and Central Luzon, the North Luzon Expressway and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.