NLEX lowers additional flat rate by P1

NLEX Corp. said it is cutting by P1 the additional toll rate at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) open system, which will be implemented starting Wednesday, Mar. 20.

In a statement on Monday, the toll road operator said it will raise flat fees by P9, not the P10 authorized by the Toll Regulatory Board, for the NLEx “open system” covering Balintawak, Karuhatan, Paso de Blas, Mindanao Avenue, Meycauayan and Marilao sections.

The adjusted toll fee for the open system of NLEx will now be P54 from the current P45 for Class 1 vehicles, P136 from P114 for Class 2 vehicles and P164 from P136 for Class 3 vehicles.

NLEX Corp. said the decision is meant to help “cushion the impact of the recently approved toll adjustments.”

For the closed system, or the rates in NLEx based on distance traveled, NLEX Corp. said the additional P0.18 per kilometer in toll fee remains.

The toll adjustments are partly from the first tranche of NLEX Corp.’s periodic toll rate increases as guaranteed by its concession agreement with the government. This accounts for the P4 increase in the open system and P0.18 per kilometer for the closed system.

The open system rate also accounts for the P6 add-on toll for the newly opened NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10, which extends the toll road from Karuhatan, Valenzuela City to C3, Caloocan City.

NLEX Corp. is under Metro Pacific Tollways Corp, the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. —