MPTC eyes new investor to fund CCLEX expansion

MANILA, Philippines — The Metro Pacific Group is looking for an investor who can finance the P7-billion expansion that would improve the traffic viability of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX).

This as Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) is struggling to recover the investments it made in building CCLEX, the third bridge that connects the city and the island sides of Cebu.

MPTC president and CEO Rogelio Singson said the company is negotiating with a foreign entity for the infusion of at least P7 billion to be spent on the expansion of CCLEX.

CCLEX is currently being used by about 17,000 motorists daily, far from the original projection of between 45,000 and 50,000. Singson attributed the gap on the absence of infrastructure that bridges CCLEX to the airport and to the city.

If MPTC closes the deal with the prospective investor, CCLEX will be expanded to reach Cebu South Road, one of the main thoroughfares in Cebu City. Further, MPTC will use the proceeds to pave an access road leading to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

At present, motorists going to Cebu City through CCLEX go down at the South Road Properties, which is 10 minutes away from Cebu South Road.

Travelers also have to go through half an hour of drive to get to CCLEX from the airport, forcing them to just use either the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge or Marcelo Fernan Bridge to reach the city.

“We are doing everything to make it viable. We are looking for a strategic investor who can bring in cash. It will all go to project expansion, no equity recovery,” Singson said.

If things go as planned, Singson said the foreign entity will take on 45 percent of CCLEX Corp., the operator of CCLEX. As committed, all of the proceeds from the investment will be deployed for capital expenditures.

Singson said MPTC is rushing the negotiations with the prospective investor, hoping to close the deal in around two months. Since CCLEX is a public-private partnership (PPP) with the local government of Cebu, MPTC expects that the entry of a new investor will be approved as quickly as possible.

CCLEX, the engineering pride of Pangilinan-led MPTC, is a cable-stayed infrastructure that serves as a third bridge connecting Cebu City and Mactan Island.

The bridge is designed to be linked to the Metro Cebu Expressway, another PPP undertaking that aims to cover the north and south of Cebu and boost trade and travel in the province.