TOLL ROAD OPERATOR NLEX Corp. said it expects this year’s traffic volume at the North Luzon and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressways (NLEx, SCTEx) to grow 7%. Luigi L. Bautista, president and general manager of NLEX Corp., told reporters Friday that daily traffic volume in 2019 at NLEx-SCTEx, which are interconnected, was 340,000 vehicles.
“This year the projected increase is 7%,” he said.
NLEX Corp. said in August that it was investing P7.7 billion on road enhancements to help ease road congestion in Metro Manila and key cities outside the capital.
The company launched several road development projects last year to build interchanges, bridges and new lanes in its toll road network.
Among the projects are the 2.6-kilometer extension of the NLEx Harbor Link Segment 10 from C3 in Caloocan City to R10 in Navotas City; capacity expansion at the Subic Freeport Expressway, which covers the construction of new lanes and bridges; and road extensions at the Bulacan portion of NLEx.
The Malabon Exit, which is part of the 2.6-kilometer C3-R10 Section of the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10, was officially opened last week.
NLEX said about 20,000 motorists are expected to benefit from the Malabon Exit.
The section of C3-R10 from Caloocan City to Radial Road 10 (R10) in Navotas City will be opened to motorists next month. It will connect to the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10.
The 5.65-kilometer NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 is an elevated toll road that traverses Karuhatan, Valenzuela City, Governor Pascual Avenue in Malabon City, and 5th Avenue/C3 Road, Caloocan City.
NLEX said the project will likewise benefit the transport logistics industry, noting that cargo trucks will have “24/7 access from the port to NLEX, sparing them from the truck ban and congested local roads.”
NLEX Corp. is controlled by Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is one of the three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd. The two others are PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin
