NLEX gets go signal for P25-B bonds

NLEX Corp., the toll road operator of the MVP Group, has received the green light from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue fixed rate bonds amounting to P25 billion.

The bonds, which will be issued in tranches, comprise seven-year Series A bonds due 2025 and 10-year Series B bonds due 2028.

The first tranche amounts to P4 billion plus an oversubscription option of P2 billion.

Proceeds would be used to fund the capital expenditure requirements of the company’s Road-10 Section Project and other corporate requirements.

The R-10 Section Project is a 2.6-kilometer elevated toll road, which will extend the C-3 Road exit ramp of Segment 10 to R-10 Road near the Port Area, providing an alternative route to motorists who suffer from the worsening traffic congestion in Port Area.

With an estimated cost of P6.6 billion, R-10 is scheduled to be completed within 16 months after commencement of construction in the second quarter.

The company tapped BDO Capital and Investments Corp. and First Metro Investments Corp. as underwriters for the planned bond offering.

NLEX, which operates the North Luzon Expressway, is part of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC).

MPTC posted a core net income of P1.1 billion in the first quarter, up 16 percent year on year.

System-wide vehicle entries grew 57 percent to 914,152 a day. Traffic on the NLEX alone grew nine percent.

Aside from R-10, NLEX is also doing the P23.3 billion eight-kilometer elevated NLEX-SLEX Connector Road. Construction is due to start in the third quarter.

Completion of the longanticipated tollroad is due in 2020, officials have said.

MPTC expects to spend approximately P122.8 billion in the next five years building highways and tollroads around the country.