PANGILINAN-LED Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) said it hopes to construct a P40-billion expressway in Naic, Cavite.
“We are in discussions with the provincial government of Cavite about a possible Naic connection to CALAX (Cavite-Laguna Expressway) in General Trias,” MPTC President and Chief Executive Officer Raul L. Ignacio told reporters recently.
The proposal would be a public-private partnership (PPP) and would depend on the completion of the Bataan-Cavite bridge, Mr. Ignacio said.
“The route of the proposal will pass through Naic, Cavite, connecting General Trias through CALAX,” he added.
CALAX is a four-lane, 45-kilometer toll road connecting the westbound Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (CAVITEX) and the eastbound Mamplasan rotunda to the South Luzon Expressway.
To date, only the 14.24-kilometer segment of the toll road is operational, data from its website showed.
“We were informed that (the Bataan-Cavite bridge) will push through, so (our proposal) should be executed,” Mr. Ignacio said.
He said the project cost will also depend on the number of interchanges to be constructed.
The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge is a 32.15-kilometer marine bridge connecting Central Luzon to CALABARZON, or Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon. The Asian Development Bank is co-financing the project.
The bridge is expected to reduce travel time from Mariveles, Bataan, to Naic, Cavite, from five hours to 1.5 hours. It is expected to be completed by 2029.
For now, MPTC is in talks with the Cavite local government as mandated by the new PPP Law, Mr. Ignacio said.
In 2023, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed a measure aimed at streamlining the framework for PPPs.
The PPP Code, or Republic Act No. 11966, amended the Build-Operate-Transfer Law to create a unified legal framework for all PPPs at both national and local levels.
“We have submitted our intention to Cavite; we have to consult with them first on the rerouting and how to proceed,” Mr. Ignacio said.
MPTC is the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
