Business sector hails new SLEX

MANILA, Philippines -  The newly-rehabilitated South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) has been hailed by the business sector in the Cavite-Batangas-Laguna-Rizal-Quezon (Calabarzon) area as this facilitates the faster flow of goods and people since it fully-opened and connected to the South Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) Tollway last December 15.

Leading the beneficiaries of the full opening of the SLEX are the so-called export processing zones in Calabarzon which noted that the highway connection brought by SLEX and its link to the STAR Tollway has given them the option of transshipping goods manufactured in the EPZs through the Batangas City port.

Kahn Sato, vice president for marketing of LiMA Land Inc., which operates the Lima Technology Center Industrial Park, said that the improved SLEX has cut travel time from Batangas to Manila by half an hour, and has brought savings on fuel cost as well.

“It used to take us 90 minutes from Manila to the LiMA Technology Center in Batangas. But with the upgrading of SLEX, this has been reduced to just one hour,” said Sato. “Our locators make a faster turn-around and of course, get bigger efficiency in their fuel consumption,” he added.

Lima Technology Center is the Philippine home of large, foreign locators, among them Epson, Yamaha and LittelFuse.

Aside from the obvious savings, improved transport have also reduced the decades-long threat of missed shipping deadlines due to traffic congestion. Part of the risks taken by exporters are paying stiff penalties for delayed deliveries and having to air-freight the cargo at nearly triple the shipping cost.

Sato noted that another major benefit of the rehabilitated SLEX was enabling them to avoid the daily congestion in the national road between Calamba and Sto. Tomas, which used to delay motorists for up to an hour.

The new eight-km, four-lane tollway has shortened the trip to five minutes.

“We can now use the highway without passing through Turbina,” said Sato. “We’re just happy to avoid traffic congestion.”

Other economic zone locators note that since the formerly four-lane SLEX was widened to eight lanes, cargo-carrying trucks and haulers plying the 36 kilometers from Sto. Tomas to Alabang are much safer even at night.

Alma Tuason, South Luzon Tollways Corp. (SLTC), said that the SLEX is now well-lit with streetlights and was now equipped with video cameras.

“SLEX is lighted now. There are also 82 video cameras watching every inch of the expressway. Traffic controllers can dispatch emergency response units to any motorist in distress even before he calls,” Tuason said.