THE IMPLEMENTATION of a new tollroad project that will link the southern part of Metro Manila and nearby provinces to Circumferential Road No. 5 (C5) formally started last Friday.
This makes it among the last few infrastructure deals to start before the term of the Aquino administration ends in June this year.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp., through unit Cavitex Infrastructure Corp., held a groundbreaking ceremony for the 7.7-km Cavite Expressway C5 South Link Project.
The P12-billion, six-lane project is a joint venture between the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) and Cavitex Infrastructure Corp.
It aims to help decongest traffic by linking major business districts in Makati and Taguig to the southern cities of Parañaque, Las Piñas and Cavite, targeting high-value trips such as cargo trucks, vans and buses.
The C5 South Link will run from the end of C5, just before entering the South Luzon Expressway, to Cavitex near the Parañaque Toll Plaza.
“South Metro Manila is composed mostly of residential areas. Most people living here are working in Makati, Taguig and Ortigas. So during rush hour, there is a large volume of vehicles that travel daily, resulting in traffic congestion on Edsa and C5,” Cavitex Infrastructure president Luigi Bautista said in a statement.
“The Cavitex C5 South Link will enable residents of Cavite, Las Piñas and parts of Parañaque to avoid Edsa, and take a direct link to and from C5 to the Cavitex,” he added.
The first phase of the Cavitex C5 South Link construction starts in 2016, to link C5 and Merville, Parañaque by way of a flyover. The second phase starts in 2017 where the link between Merville and Cavitex will be built. Full completion is seen before 2020.
Bautista said that aside from decongesting traffic in the south, the toll road will help increase productivity and economic activity in the area.
Cavitex Infrastructure is a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments.
It has completed Segments 1 and 4 of the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Project. Segment 1, formerly called Coastal Road, runs from MIA road up to Longos, Bacoor. From there, Segment 2 covers another seven kilometers and ends in Kawit, Cavite, where it will connect with MPTC’s future expansion projects in Cavite.
The construction, operation and maintenance of the project is projected to generate at least 1,000 jobs.