NLEx toll fees to rise

North Luzon Expressway. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Fees for the use of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) are poised to go up starting Nov. 6 this year, operator NLEx Corp. said yesterday.

NLEx Corp., a unit of infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp., announced the implementation date after the Toll Regulatory Board gave its provisional approval of the NLEx closed system toll of P0.25 per kilometer.

Under the new fare structure, Class 1 vehicles (ordinary cars) traveling the entire NLEx between Edsa Balintawak or Mindanao Avenue, Quezon City to Sta. Ines, Mabalacat City will pay an additional P18.

Class 2 vehicles (buses and small trucks) on the same route will pay an additional P46 while Class 3 vehicles (Large trucks/Trailers) will pay an additional P56.

The company said the adjustment was approved last month after it completed the construction of 64 new lane-kilometers along the Bulacan and Pampanga portions of the expressway. The projects were valued at around P2.5 billion.

“Motorists have been enjoying safer travel and less congestion brought about by the new infrastructure projects since last year,” NLEx Corp. noted in a statement.

It said the construction of a new carriageway and two new bridges between Barangay Dau and Barangay Sta. Ines in Mabalacat City were completed in December last year.

Moreover, the new lanes along the Barangay Sta. Rita, Guiguinto and San Fernando City sections were opened to motorists in April this year.

The 5-km Candaba Viaduct has also been expanded from the 2-by-2 lanes to 2-by-3-lane configuration further improving travel, it added.

NLEx Corp. added that the provisionally adjusted toll rates exclude the existing NLEx Open System. As such, all vehicles traveling within the Quezon City, Valenzuela City, Meycauayan and Marilao sections will continue to be charged with the existing toll fees.

The toll fees for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway system (SCTEx), which NLEx Corp. also operates, will remain unchanged regardless of the vehicle class.

The approval is welcome news for Metro Pacific, which is locked in an arbitration case with the government over the unadjusted toll fees at the NLEx and Manila Cavite Expressway. It earlier claimed that forgone revenue amounted to more than P7 billion over several years.

Metro Pacific Tollways earlier outlined a P130.5-billion spending program for new toll roads over a the next five years. It said the toll hike was needed to partly fund new projects.

As of the first half of 2017, Metro Pacific said overdue tariff adjustments ranged between 20 percent and 48 percent across its network.

“We are in constructive dialogue with the new administration on how to achieve this,” Metro Pacific said.