SEC okays South Luzon Tollway capital hike

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the capital increase of South Luzon Tollway Corp. (SLTC) from P100 million to P4 billion.

SLTC, a joint venture between the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) and its Malaysian partner MTD Capital Bhd., is undertaking the expansion and extension of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).

Started in May 2006, the project will help decongest Metro Manila by opening up new centers of business and industry in the south. 

Documents filed with the SEC show that out of the P3.9-billion capital increase, P3.6 billion has been subscribed and paid for. Subscribing to the increase were MTD Manila Expressway Inc. (P2.88 billion) and PNCC (P720 million).

The SLEX project will have three phases: rehabilitation of the 1.2-kilometer Alabang viaduct, widening of the 27.3-kilometer segment of the expressway from the Filinvest area in Alabang to Calamba town in Laguna province, and extension of the expressway from Calamba to Santo Tomas in Batangas province to connect it to the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR).

The Filinvest-Calamba segment will be widened from four lanes to eight lanes to decongest the expressway particularly up to the Santa Rosa section, over a stretch of 15.6 kilometers.

The Santa Rosa-Calamba stretch covering 11.7 kilometers will be widened to six lanes from four.       

About 150,000 vehicles take the expressway every day and over 60 percent of all produce in Luzon passes through it. — Zinnia dela Peña