Fresh delays push Calax completion to next year

A unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) is targeting to complete the entire 44.57-kilometer (km) Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax) next year as the delays in constructions have resulted in bloated expenditures.

Raul Ignacio, president of MPTC subsidiary MPCALA Holdings Inc. (MHI), recently told reporters they were in the process of securing the right of way in the unopened segments—Kawit, Open Canal and Governor’s Drive—of the 26.5-km Cavite province portion.

“We are discussing with the government the [funding for right-of-way [acquisition]. So within the year, if we’re able to get the properties, we can complete it by next year,” he explained. Ignacio noted the government already had the commitment to “fully fund the entire [right-of-way] requirement.”

He said the Calax project, a public-private partnership between the Department of Public Works and Highways and MHI, should have been completed in 2020.

“If we’re able to complete it by next year, it will be about four to five years of delays. What goes with it is the increase in the project cost,” Ignacio said. The expenses are estimated to rise by 30 percent to 40 percent as a result and the MPTC unit is currently in discussion with the government for additional funding.

All the interchanges along the 18.07-km Laguna province portion of Calax, meanwhile, are already operational except for the Silang (Aguinaldo) segment, which was delayed by right-of-way acquisition issues.

But Ignacio said the issue had already been settled, noting the writ of possession for the 450 meters of land previously owned by private company Uneco Land Corp.

As such, the Silang (Aguinaldo) interchange is targeted to be opened by June, the MHI official said. To recall, MHI was hoping to complete the interchange by the first quarter. The right-of-way issue previously halted the construction of drainage and bridge, excavation and roadway earthworks, among others.

MPTC chief finance officer Christopher Lizo earlier shared that the average daily vehicular volume in Calax was about 31,000, translating to P1.2 million in toll revenues per day. These figures are expected to rise with the opening of more interchanges.

Calax is a toll road linking Manila-Cavite Expressway and South Luzon Expressway. INQ