NLEX Corp. is seeking to accelerate the implementation of its P23-billion connector road project by hiring more than 1,500 workers amid the pandemic crisis.
“We are currently working on the first five-kilometer section of the NLEX (North Luzon Expressway) Connector from Grace Park, Caloocan City to España St., Sampaloc, Manila. As projected, more than 1,500 workers are needed to accelerate the construction works,” NLEX President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista said in an e-mailed statement.
The NLEX Connector Road project is the eight-kilometer toll road linking the tail of NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 at C3 Road, Caloocan City to Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila. It is targeted for completion in 2021.
Once completed, the project is expected to cut travel time from NLEX to South Luzon Expressway from two hours to about 20 minutes, the company said.
The NLEX Connector also aims to provide “improved accessibility” for cargo trucks bound for the Manila Ports and the international airports in the capital and Clark, Pampanga, NLEX Corp. added.
Mr. Bautista said the company will prioritize hiring overseas Filipino workers who have been displaced and unemployed due to the pandemic crisis.
“Being a government partner in infrastructure building, NLEX Corp. and the entire Metro Pacific Tollways group are keen in helping the economy recover from the adverse effects of the pandemic. With our ongoing projects, we can create more opportunities for people thus propel growth in the country,” he said.
NLEX Corp. is under Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin
