SMC starts road linking Taguig to Batasan

San Miguel Corp. received clearance to start an expressway project that would cut travel time between Taguig City and the Batasan complex in Quezon City by 2020.

SMC, along with key government agencies led by the Department of Transportation and Department of Public Works and Highways, led a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday for the project formally called the Southeast Metro Manila Expressway.

According to the DOTr, the project would span 34 kilometers and link SMC’s Skyway Stage 1 in the FTI complex in Taguig to the Batasan complex. It will eventually connect to the North Luzon Expressway via Balagtas in Bulacan.

“When completed, travel time of motorists from Bicutan, Taguig, to Batasan, Quezon City, will be reduced to on ly 35 minutes,” the DOTr said on Monday.

The project, part of the Metro Manila C-6 Expressway project, is estimated to cost P45 billion and is targeted for completion by 2020. The expressway will have six lanes, both for elevated and at-grade sections.

The DOTr said it would decongest roads in Manila and Quezon City, including major road networks such as Edsa, C-5 and Ortigas Avenue.

Raoul Romulo, chief financial officer of SMC’s infrastructure unit, said the expressway aimed to ease congestion in these areas. For example, travel time between Taguig and Quezon City takes at least one and a half hours.

“With the construction and completion of this first phase, we hope to reduce that by at least 50 percent,” Romulo said.

The DOTr said the project had a concession period of 30 years. SMC-led Citra Intercity Tollways Inc. is the project concessionaire for the C-6 expressway.