By Lailany P.
Gomez | Posted on Jul. 09, 2013 at 12:02am
[
manilastandardtoday.com ]
Diversified
conglomerate San Miguel Corp. will start construction of the P15-billion NAIA
Expressway project in January 2014 following a contract signing Monday with the
Department of Public Works and Highways.
Public Works
Secretary Rogelio Singson and San Miguel chief financial officer Ferdinand
Constantino signed the contract, three months after the conglomerate won the
bidding for the project.
Raoul Eduardo
Romulo, San Miguel’s head of Treasury Services Infrastructure Group, said the
early construction of the project would hinge on the grant of the right-of-way
to unit Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc. San Miguel said it could
complete the project in time for the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation in 2015.
“We are doing
the detailed engineering for the construction itself. But the government has to
certify a right-of-way before we can start construction. The next six months we
will be dependent on the government to deliver the right-of-way. Then, we can
begin construction in January 2014. We have to target finishing it before the
APEC,” Romulo told reporters at the sidelines of the contract signing.
Under the
private-public partnership scheme, the government will shoulder the
P2.25-billion right-of-way acquisition for the 7.15-kilometer four-lane
elevated expressway.
The DPWH said
it had started the process of documenting squatters occupying part of the
proposed road.
San Miguel
bagged the contract to build the NAIA Expressway after paying government P11 billion
in upfront money, representing direct payment in exchange of the 30-year
concession contract to operate the toll road. It easily topped the P305-million
offer of the other bidder, Manila North Tollways Corp.
The upfront
payment was on top of the estimated P15.516-billion construction cost.
The
7.15-kilometer four-lane elevated expressway aims to provide easy access to and
from the three NAIA passenger terminals, as well as interconnect the South
Luzon Expressway/Skyway with the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway on Roxas
Boulevard, Macapagal Boulevard and the proposed Pagcor Entertainment City.
The DPWH,
meanwhile, said it might apply the existing contract between Metro Pacific
Investment Corp. and Philippine National Construction Corp. for the construction
of the connector road that will link the North and South Luzon expressways.
Public Works
Undersecretary Rafael Yabut said extending the current contract was one of the
options the government was looking at to speed up the construction of the
estimated P25.56-billion connector road.
______________________________________________________________
