MPIC unit sees early completion of Cavitex upgrade

Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC), a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), expects to complete enhancements for the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (Cavitex) by next month, one month ahead of schedule, to ease congestion in the area.

CIC president and chief executive officer Luigi Bautista said during the inspection conducted by a team from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the company expects to complete the project by July, ahead of the original completion target of August.

The project involves widening the expressway by adding one lane on both directions, as well as construction of a flyover on the southbound lane on the intersection of Pacific Ave.

“Both of this are originally scheduled to be finished in August. So, what we told the contractor is to finish it by end of July,” Bautista said.

He said CIC is spending P800 million for the Cavitex enhancement project which started last year.

Aside from the road widening and construction of the flyover, CIC is also adding 15 toll booths with three on the northbound direction, two on the southbound direction, and five portable booths on each side of the Parañaque toll plaza.

“About 140,000 cars pass Cavitex at different periods of the day, and we would like each one of them to have a good experience to take with them after passing our expressway,” Bautista said.

When the Cavitex enhancement project is completed, he said the expressway’s capacity would increase by 25 percent and be able to accommodate more vehicles.

CIC expects the number of vehicles using the Cavitex to grow by six to seven percent this year.

DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, who led the team which conducted the inspection, said the completion of the enhancement project would benefit motorists, particularly those going to or coming from the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas.

“Cavitex, being the gateway to the Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas provinces, responds to the challenges of progress. More cars pass Cavitex year on year, a sign that Region 4A continues to boom, and is likely to become a highly-progressive and viable area for more investments,” he said.

He added the enhancement project in Cavitex would improve travel time by around 20 to 30 minutes.

Apart from Cavitex, MPIC also operates other tollways such as the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

It is likewise building the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10, a 5.58-kilometer six-lane elevated expressway connecting McArthur Highway in Valenzuela City and C-3 in Caloocan, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of the year.

Other tollway projects being built by MPIC are NLEX - South Luzon Expressway Connector Road, Cavite-Laguna Expressway, C-5 South Link and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway.