Skyway Extension opening delayed anew to March, June

MANILA, Philippines — Motorists from southern Luzon awaiting the opening of Skyway's nearest exit in their area will have to wait a little more as the project will only start accepting vehicles next month.

The northbound section of the Skyway Extension Project from Susana Heights exit of South Luzon Expressway to Sucat in Parañaque will open on March 30, while southbound going back will do so in June, Ramon Ang, chief executive of San Miguel Corp. that operates the toll road, said on Wednesday.

“Traffic is always bad in Bicutan and Sucat so hopefully once we open up, that will ease,” Ang said in Filipino during the tax advocacy launch of the Bureau of Internal Revenue streamed online. 

The new schedule actually represents a latest pushback from the already delayed opening supposedly this month. That portion was originally scheduled to finish last December, but an accident involving a contractor’s steel girder falling on six vehicles and killing one in November delayed the project's completion.

It was not clear what is the reason behind the latest delay.

On January 15, San Miguel nonetheless opened Skyway Stage 3— an 18-kilometer elevated stretch from Makati City to Balintawak in Quezon City. Since then, road access has been toll free and Ang committed to keep it that way “for as long as we can.” He did not elaborate. Under the original plan though, San Miguel waived Skyway fees only for a month.

Motorists were quick to note that when Skyway Stage 3 opened, traffic flow in EDSA, which originally was the lone straight passage from north to south of Metro Manila, also eased. Ang himself indicated that from the typical 2-hour drive pre-pandemic from Makati City to Greenhills in Ortigas in the evening, it now only takes him 15 minutes to traverse the same route.

That said, it is also worth noting that only 50% of public transport are currently allowed in the streets, while most consumers stay home and work done remotely, reducing vehicles on the road. 

Ang’s statements came hours after trading ended for the day. Shares in San Miguel closed sown 0.71% from previous day to P126 apiece.