TOLL RATES at the Cavite Expressway (CAVITEx) may soon rise, as Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC) is set to file its application to hike fees before the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) within the month.
Luigi L. Bautista, president of CAVITEx private concessionaire CIC, told reporters last week the company is eyeing a 20 centavo per kilometer increase for the use of the toll road.
“We will file the petition this month. Then it will be processed. Depends on when the TRB will approve it,” he said.
The existing toll fee at the CAVITEx is P24 for the seven-kilometer stretch. A 20-centavo increase means an additional P1.40 to the toll fee, but Mr. Bautista said it will likely be rounded off.
CIC is currently working on a P1.1-billion enhancement of the CAVITEx, phase 1 of which is the P800-million widening of lanes and construction of a left-turn facility at the Marina flyover; and phase 2 the P300-million widening of bridges in Wawa, Las Piñas and Parañaque.
Mr. Bautista said they expect to complete the left-turn facility at the Marina flyover and the lane widening by the end of the month.
“We will complete it by the end of this month. So by next month, we should be… tapos na [it’s done]. And then we’ll just finish the lane widening. Siguro by the end of this month [Likely by the end of this month],” he said.
He noted the construction works are substantially complete, and the contractor just needs to address the remaining balance and “punch listed items identified by the independent consultant.”
“There’s a certificate that needs to be signed. It’s called the Certificate of Substantial Completion. Once that is signed by the independent consultant, that is the document that you need to be able to file the petition for the annual toll,” Mr. Bautista explained.
CIC is the unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) that holds the concession for the CAVITEx project.
MPTC is the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). MPIC is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Denise A. Valdez

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