By Darwin G. Amojelar | Jun. 08, 2015
at 11:00pm [ manilastandardtoday.com ]
Manila North Tollways Corp. said it
will spend P8.6 billion to extend the North Luzon Expressway to Commonwealth
Avenue in Quezon City.
MNTC president and chief executive
Rodrigo Franco told reporters the construction cost of the NLEX Segment 8.2 or
the C5 link would amount to P8.6 billion, while the government would finance
the right-of-way acquisition amounting to P1.9 billion.
The 7.85-kilometer C5 link will start
from the end of Segment 8.1 at Mindanao Ave. and end at Commonwealth Ave. in
Quezon City.
Franco said the C5 link aimed to
decongest Metro Manila as it would provide alternative access to mainline NLEX
further east of Metro Manila, bypassing Edsa and Balintawak toll plaza.
“It will Improve transport logistics
and operational efficiency with more efficient movement of trucks and haulers in and out of the ports located
in Manila,” he said.
Franco said the company expected to
start the construction of the project in the second half of 2015 and to be
completed in 2019.
“We’re now talking with the LGU [local
government unit] of Quezon City and DPWH
[Department of Public Works and Highways] so that we can clear the right of
way,” he said.
The P11.5-billion Segment 10 of NLEX,
which started construction in June last year, is expected to be completed by
the third quarter of 2016.
Daily traffic for Segment 10 is
projected to reach 30,000 vehicles.
The company is also building the
P18-billion NLEX-SLEX connector road project, which is up for a Swiss Challenge
in the third quarter of the year.
The NLEX-SLEX connector will include a
five-kilometer common alignment from the Polytechnic University of the
Philippines campus to Buendia in Makati City.
The common alignment would be financed
by Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp., which is separately constructing the
P26.7-billion Skyway Stage 3 Project.
The NLEX-SLEX connector road is
expected to be completed by 2017, about a year later than its original target
of June 2015.
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