First segment of 45-km CalaEx opened

Biñan, Laguna— The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and toll road operator Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. will open a quarter of the 45-kilometer Cavite Laguna Expressway (CalaEx) next month, bringing relief to motorists.

CalaEx’s first 10-km segment is estimated to serve about 10,000 vehicles a day and will decongest key areas including Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road.

“Opening this first segment will be beneficial to the growing industrial, commercial and real estate centers of this part of the Southern Tagalog Region,” Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said on Tuesday.

Officials from the DWPH and Metro Pacific led the inspection of the CalaEx, an Aquino-era Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project.

The first segment starts at the Mamplasan Barrier and passes through Laguna Technopark Interchange, Laguna Boulevard Interchange all the way to Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Interchange.

The four-lane CalaEx will link the Cavite Expressway in Kawit to the South Luzon Expressway at the Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna. It will cut the usual two hour trip to about 45 minutes and serve 50,000 motorists a day.

“We look forward to deliver the full 45 km by the second quarter of 2022,” said Roberto Bontia, president of MPCala Holdings, a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways that won the PPP project.

He said CalaEx would come with features such an Automatic License Plate Recognition System for barrier-less entry. Moreover, IP Based Speed Detection Cameras will be installed together with HD CCTV coverage for the entire stretch of the expressway.

CalaEx will have interchanges in eight locations: Kawit, Daang Hari, Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway, Silang, Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay, Laguna Blvd., Technopark and a toll barrier before SLEx.

Villar also cited right-of-way issues that caused delays.

“We are addressing these challenges in order to keep to the timeline and deliver the full 45 km by early 2022,” he said.

The Commission on Audit recently noted that some P118.4 billion worth of DPWH projects last year were either delayed or were not implemented.