A San Miguel
Corp.-backed toll road project aimed at cutting road congestion around Manila’s
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) would be partially opened by next
month, a senior government official said.
Public Works and Highways
Secretary Mark Villar told reporters Monday a portion of the 7.75-kilometer
Naia Expressway Phase 2 public-private partnership project linking Macapagal
Boulevard near Entertainment City to Naia Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 would open
by the third week of September.
Another segment
extending the toll road to Naia Terminal 3 and further to the Metro Manila
Skyway, also controlled by SMC, would open “by Christmas” of 2016, he said.
“The President’s orders
were for 24/7 construction so we are working 24/7 to finish the Naia
Expressway,” Villar told reporters during a routine inspection on Monday.
Villar said the toll
rate, which was being handled by the Transportation Department, has yet to be
finalized. He said the estimated fee was anywhere between P35 to P45.
Upon completion, the
tollroad would reduce notorious traffic bottlenecks around the airport complex,
the country’s busiest.
The DPWH estimated
average travel time between the Skyway and Naia Terminal 1 took about 24
minutes. With the Naia Expressway Phase 2, that would be cut to 8.2 minutes.
“That is 80,000 users
per day that could benefit from this target. That is why the Duterte
administration is committed to finish this at the soonest possible time,”
Villar said.
SMC, via Vertex Tollways
Development Inc., won the P17.9-billion project in 2013 after its P11-billion
bid bested the offer of sole rival Metro Pacific Investments Corp. The
conglomerate will operate the expressway for a period of 30 years. Tapped as
civil works contractor was D.M. Consunji Inc., a unit of DMCI Holdings Inc. With
a report from Julie M. Aurelio
Read more: http://business.inquirer.net/213541/traffic-respite-expected-naia-expressway-segment-opens-sept#ixzz4IED8qRer
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