Expansion of Cavitex C5 Link set

MANILA, Philippines — Pangilinan-led Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC) has tapped the services of a Chinese builder to put up the second segment linking the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) and C5 Road.

CIC announced yesterday that civil works for the CAVITEX C5 Link Segment 2 would start before the end of March with the target of opening it to motorists by the end of the year.

CIC, a unit of Manuel V. Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), signed the services of China Road and Bridge Corp. (CRBC) to construct the second phase of the CAVITEX link.

Based on the alignment, the section will run for at least 1.9 kilometers and will feature a 2x3 lane expressway. It seeks to connect Coastal Road from the Parañaque Toll Plaza to Sucat via the R-1 Interchange.

CIC president and general manager Raul Ignacio said the first segment of the CAVITEX C5 Link serves more than 16,000 motorists daily. He expects this number to go up once the second phase of the project is completed.

“The CAVITEX C5 Link is a vital segment of the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Project and so far we managed to open 3.8 kilometers to the motoring public serving more than 16,000 vehicles daily,” Ignacio said.

“Still, we have a long way to go. This is something we cannot do alone. Hence, we searched for a contractor that would be up for the task of delivering world-class quality infrastructure for our motorists within our timeline,” he said.

CRBC has delivered multiple projects for both the public and private sectors in the Philippines, among them, a portion of the Central Luzon Link Expressway, Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge and the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge.

Looking ahead, Ignacio said CIC plans to pick up the pace in finishing all of the segments of the CAVITEX C5 Link. He disclosed that the construction of Segment 3-B, spanning from Sucat to E. Rodriguez, will begin by the third quarter.

The CAVITEX C5 Link seeks to shorten by 45 minutes the travel time to Makati City and Taguig City from the south of Metro Manila. In its full swing, it extends for a total of 7.7 kilometers and is projected to serve up to 40,000 motorists every day.

Last year CIC opened the first section of the project that stretches from Merville, Parañaque City to C5 Road, decongesting the service roads where motorists usually pass through to get to C5.

Aside from CAVITEX and its link to C5 Road, CIC’s parent MPTC holds the concessions for the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, NLEX Connector Road and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway.