Merville-Taguig link of vital toll road set to be completed

The toll road arm of infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. announced a new milestone in its 7.7-kilometer C5 South Link Expressway project, which would significantly cut travel time between Parañaque and major business districts such as Taguig and Makati.

According to Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC), a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., a key 2.2-km segment of the toll road that will connect Taguig and Merville in Parañaque is over 87 percent complete and will be finished by June 15 this year.

Roberto Bontia, president and general manager of CIC, said the target was to open the entire C5 South Link Expressway, which would run from Metro Pacific’s Cavite Expressway through C5, by the fourth quarter of 2021. However, he cited challenges in the delivery of right of way in the Sucat, Parañaque area.

Bontia noted they planned to open the expressway in phases, starting with the Merville-Taguig section formally known as Segment 3A1.

“This segment is an important portion of the C5 South Link project, once completed motorists using C5 can easily cross to Merville, Parañaque City, with no trouble at all and will help decongest about 5,000 cars just for this segment alone,” said Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, who led the inspection of the toll road on Wednesday.

The C5 South Link will cost around P10 billion to complete and is expected to shift around 50,000 vehicles away from busy thoroughfares such as Sales Road and Edsa. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS