TRB approves SCTEX, MCX toll hike

MANILA, Philippines — The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has granted toll increase petitions for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and the Muntinlupa–Cavite Expressway (MCX), an official said yesterday.

TRB executive director Abraham Sales said the SCTEX petition was filed in 2011 and that of the MCX in 2016.

“It was approved months ago, then we had to finalize the resolution. The promulgation was made this week,” he said in an interview.

For the SCTEX, Sales said the increase is likely to be 19 percent but noted that it is better to wait for the new toll matrix to be published next week.

“They are entitled to a yearly adjustment. So this one (was) really pending… since 2011. It’s the first of the petitions that has been resolved (for SCTEX),” he added.

The SCTEX – a 94-kilometer expressway spanning Subic-Tipo in Olongapo, Zambales to La Paz, Tarlac – is operated by NLEX Corp., a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.

Sales said the increase approved for the Ayala Corp.-operated MCX is minimal. 

“I don’t know if they would even implement it since it would cost a lot to tweak their system,” he said.

The MCX, opened in 2015, is a four-kilometer tollway connecting Daang Hari Road to the South Luzon Expressway.