MPIC hopes for connector road award

Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) is expecting to get the government award for the North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway (NLEX-SLEX) connector road project sometime this week.

In an interview at the sidelines of the Euromoney Investment Summit, MPIC President Jose Ma. Lim said "we are waiting for the notice of award of the connector road. Hopefully this week."

This is after no competing party submitted a bid during the Swiss challenge for the project proposed by MPIC. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said last July that the project will be awarded to Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corporation (MPTDC), a unit of MPIC.

Firms like San Miguel Holdings Corporation, Obrascon Huarte Lain SA, Hunan Road and Bridge Corporation had earlier earlier expressed interest to bid.

The NLEX-SLEX connector road project involves an elevated four-lane, eight-kilometer tolled expressway starting at NLEX Segment 10 at C-3 or Fifth Avenue, Caloocan City and connecting to the SLEX, through Stage 3 of the Metro Manila Skyway System Project in Manila.

It will have at least two interchanges and two tolling plazas, and is estimated to cost R15.74 billion, exclusive of the right-of-way acquisition worth R7.46 billion.

Once completed, it is expected to cut the travel time between NLEX and SLEX to 15-20 minutes from the current 1.5 to two hours.