NLEX Corp. said it targets to complete the Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEX) Capacity Expansion and Candaba Viaduct Upgrade projects this year.
The tollway company also hopes to complete the first section of the NLEX Connector project this year.
“These infrastructure works are intended to further improve traffic flow and connectivity, as well as promote road safety for hundreds of thousands of motorists using these critical arteries in Central and Northern Luzon,” said NLEX Corp. President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday.
The P1.6-billion SFEX Capacity Expansion project is now 92% complete, the company said.
The project is slated for completion within the first quarter.
“Once finished, the new and expanded SFEX will complement Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s infrastructure program, accommodate the growing number of traffic while promoting road safety, and most especially, facilitate passage for truckers and merchants delivering essential goods in and out of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone,” NLEX Corp. said.
In a phone message to BusinessWorld, NLEX Corp. Senior Vice-President for Communication Romulo S. Quimbo, Jr. said the major works associated with the Candaba Viaduct Upgrade project in Pampanga featuring the link slabs replacement will also be completed this year.
The company said it had finished the replacement of 13 link slabs on the southbound portion of the five-kilometer Candaba Viaduct in December.
“Around 12 link slabs more on the southbound segment are up for replacement this year to further strengthen the bridge,” it added.
The company also targets to complete in the last quarter of the year the first section of the NLEX Connector project, which will connect NLEX to Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
“The project is on track, and is currently at 16% completion,” it said, adding that the project, once completed, is expected to reduce travel time from NLEX to South Luzon Expressway (and vice versa) from two hours to just 20 minutes.
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
