Integrated NLEx, SCTEx ready by March

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said motorists would experience a fully integrated North Luzon Expressway and Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway before the Holy Week in the latter part of March this year.

The move, MPIC unit Manila North Tollways Corp. said, was timely given the expected surge in traffic in those days. The P650-million project is already 85 percent finished, MNTC said.

“The integration project will provide a seamless travel experience by bringing to SCTEx the NLEx’s world-class toll collection system,” it said.

It added that toll plaza stops would be cut to two from five from Balintawak to Subic. From Balintawak to Tarlac, it said toll plaza stops would be reduced to two from four.

The integration is part of a broader plan to improve features of the SCTEx. The company said it was also spending on new pavement, the construction of new facilities, and the improvement of the toll collection and communications systems.

The government in November formally turned over the operations and maintenance of the 94-kilometer SCTEx to MNTC, following a delay of about six years due to several contract revisions.

The state-led Bases Conversion and Development Authority, which built the SCTEx, said the contract should be viewed as a model that other projects could replicate.

“The SCTEx is a viable government project that is seen to generate some P275 billion in revenue under the 28-year contract period,” the BCDA said. The contract will expire on Oct. 30, 2043.

Under the SCTEx business agreement, MNTC is responsible for the management services, toll collection, traffic safety and security management, toll road and facilities maintenance, including greening and landscaping, public relations and marketing, and all necessary support services.

It said half of the amount, or P137 billion, would be the share of the BCDA which would be used to pay the P25-billion Japan International Cooperation Agency loan used to build the SCTEx. The NLEx and SCTEx handle about 190,000 and 35,0000 vehicles per day, respectively.