The NLEX Harbor Link Connection

I have written here in this space about the opening of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Harbor Link Segment 10 and of the groundbreaking of the NLEX Connector Road in ceremonies attended by President Duterte.

The NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 is a 5.65-kilometer elevated toll road or expressway traversing the NLEX from the MacArthur Highway in Karuhatan, Valenzuela City, passing through Malabon City and up to C-3 Road in Caloocan.

It is a P15.55-billion project that is expected to reduce Metro Manila bottlenecks and benefit an initial 30,000 vehicles a day.

The NLEX Connector Road, meanwhile, is an eight-kilometer elevated expressway that will pass over the right-of-way of the Philippine National Railways.

The project costs P23.3 billion and starts at the junction of the NLEX Segment 10 at the C-3 Road and 5th Avenue junction in Caloocan and will connect to the South Luzon Expressway through the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 Project in Manila. Once completed, the connector road is expected to benefit an initial 35,000 vehicles a day.

Both projects are part of the public-private partnership between the government, through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the MVP Group of Companies, through Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and its subsidiaries Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) and the NLEX Corp.

Just recently, President Duterte again had occasion to lead the inspection of the NLEX Harbor Link C3-R10 section. This Harbor Link section, with a cost of P6.55 billion, is a 2.6-kilometer project that extends from the C3 circumferential road in Caloocan City to the R10 radial road in Navotas.  It will connect to the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 at the Caloocan interchange. The project is 90 percent complete, and operations are expected to commence within the month.

Joining the President from his Cabinet were Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.

Also present were Sen. Bong Go and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno.

On hand to welcome the President to the inspection were Metro Pacific executives led by chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) and president and CEO Jose Ma. Lim, Metro Pacific Tollways president and CEO Rodrigo Franco, as well as NLEX Corp. president and general manager J. Luigi Bautista.

Of course,  the success of projects such as these also depend on the support and assistance rendered by the local government units concerned, in this case the cities of Navotas, led by its Mayor Toby Tiangco, and Caloocan under Mayor Oscar Malapitan.

In his speech, the President gave the assurance that his administration will continue to work for the golden age of infrastructure that he promised at the start of his term. He also asked the public to do its part, “to work together to ensure that the strides we have made and the benefits of all our development efforts will be felt by all Filipinos.” No one should be left behind or forgotten on the path to progress, he said.

Infrastructure remains one of the cornerstones of the Duterte administration under its “Build, Build, Build” program, and the President will be able to see this through towards much success with the support of the private sector.

This was also occasion for the President to invite MVP to a meeting. According to Senator Go, the President told MVP at the end of the program that they should  meet again soon.

This should augur well for brighter and better partnerships ahead. Abangan.