METRO PACIFIC Tollways Corp. (MPTC), the tollway unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), is considering waiving toll fees to help ease traffic congestion during the rehabilitation of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA).
“San Miguel is offering Skyway Stage 3 for free, I think we also have a connector, maybe we should do the same thing; I have to talk to our tollways,” MPTC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said on the sidelines of Manila Electric Co.’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Tuesday.
The Transportation department announced that San Miguel Corp. (SMC), operator of Skyway Stage 3, has agreed to waive toll fees for some segments of the expressway during the EDSA rehabilitation period.
“Yes, I think we should. San Miguel took the lead there,” Mr. Pangilinan said when asked if the company is willing to waive tolls to help ease the anticipated traffic congestion. “We should help in the traffic situation, I guess for the next two years or so.”
MPTC, through its unit NLEX Corp., operates the 8-kilometer NLEX Connector, an elevated expressway. This toll road, specifically its España-Magsaysay section, helps ease congestion on EDSA by providing a direct route between Metro Manila and Northern Luzon.
The long-awaited EDSA rehabilitation is scheduled to begin on June 13 and will continue until 2027. Traffic congestion in Metro Manila is expected to worsen once rehabilitation works commence, the Transportation department said.
In exchange for SMC’s approval to waive toll fees on portions of Skyway Stage 3, the Transportation department is studying arrangements to grant the company some reprieve, including a possible extension of its concession agreement with the government.
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.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., holds a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
