DPWH considering MPIC’s pitch to extend NLEX to port area

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is evaluating the offer of the tollroad arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) to extend the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) deeper into Manila’s port area.

Mark Villar, the DPWH secretary, told reporters in a recent interview the review would also cover the mode of implementation for the project.

Villar said the proposal, which has an estimated project cost of P16 billion, could be implemented as an extension of the NLEx concession or a new unsolicited proposal that would require a competitive challenge.

“It’s not yet clear what will be the [final] proposal of MPIC,” Villar said.

Earlier, NLEx Corp. senior vice president Romulo Quimbo Jr. said they made an initial offer to extend NLEx. The project is a roughly 5.1-kilometer tollroad dubbed the Harbor Link Port Access Mobility Facility, according to Quimbo.

He said the new offer would extend the NLEx Corp.’s Harbor Link from R10 in Navotas all the way to Anda Circle, which is at the boundary of Manila’s Port Area.

“The advantage is it’s needed by the ports,” Quimbo had said, referring to the busy area that includes Manila International Container Terminal and Manila South Harbor.

The Harbor Link is an important component of NLEx, which stretches over 100 kilometers from Balintawak, Quezon City, to Sta. Ines, Mabalacat City, Pampanga.

NLEx Corp. is part of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., which also runs the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway and Cavite Expressway.

Metro Pacific is one of the country’s largest infrastructure companies. It also owns stakes in Manila Electric Co., the country’s largest energy distributor, and Maynilad Water Services, one of Metro Manila’s water concessionaires.

Its portfolio includes the country’s largest chain of private hospitals and the Light Rail Transit Line 1 project in Metro Manila. —Miguel R. Camus