Posted on March 11, 2017 [
bworldonline.com ]
THE METRO Pacific group will break
ground on the P35.43-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) project next
month after signing the construction contract on Friday with D.M. Consunji,
Inc. (DMCI).
MPCALA Holdings, Inc., a unit of Metro
Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), the tollways arm of Metro Pacific Investments
Corp. (MPIC), is set to start construction of the Laguna segment of the CALAX,
one of the largest public-private partnership (PPP) projects, which it expects
to finish by July 2020.
“We plan to break ground next month,
three months ahead of schedule. By the end of 2020, when we inaugurate the
expressway, CALAX will be the most modern expressway in the country,” Luigi L.
Bautista, MPCALA President and CEO said on Friday.
MPCALA received the notice of award
for the 35-year contract to build, operate, and maintain the planned expressway
on June 8, 2015. Right of way issues for the project site have delayed the
start of construction.
The CALAX project involves the
construction of a 44.6-kilometer four-lane toll road between the Cavite
Expressway in Kawit, Cavite and the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx)-Mamplasan
Interchange in Biñan, Laguna. It will have eight interchanges and one main toll
barrier and is expected to ease road congestion south of the capital.
“The actual construction (will
involve) clearing works and preparatory works before April 4. So by the time we
break ground, there will be equipment working on the ground,” Mr. Bautista told
reporters on the sidelines of the construction contract signing on Friday,
noting that so far, an initial seven kilometers of the project has cleared
right-of-way hurdles, or approximately 16% of the total.
“It’s enough for DMCI to work on for
maybe, six months,” the MPCALA chief added.
A project timeline released in
December showed that construction starting at the Laguna segment is scheduled
for the first quarter, with construction to start by the third quarter for the
rest of the project sections. A project brief from the Department of Public
Works and Highways said that detailed engineering design was prepared beginning
July 2015, while right of way acquisition started in the same month.
During the signing ceremony, the
timeline presented showed that construction of the Cavite section will start on
July 2017 and its targeted to end by July 2020.
The contract with DMCI to build the
18-kilometer road amounts to P7.2 billion and MPIC is currently in talks with
“several banks” to raise about P17 billion for the CALAX project.
The Metro Pacific group won the
auction for the project after submitting a P62.72-billion bid -- P27.3-billion
premium it offered to pay the government on top of the project’s P35.42-billion
construction cost.
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. -- Imee
Charlee C. Delavin
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