ROW for Cavitex links on road to completion

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) has expressed confidence it would complete expansion works for the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) on time as it gained headway in the acquisition of right of way (ROW).

In an update, CAVITEX operator and MPTC subsidiary Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC) said it has achieved a progress rate of more than 70 percent for two projects extending the tollway.

To date, CIC has obtained 70.6 percent of ROW for the third segment of the CAVITEX-C5 Link and 77.14 percent of ROW for the CAVITEX link to the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX).

CIC president and general manager Raul Ignacio said the projects received a boost when President Marcos visited the construction sites in June. He said the President rallied the segment contractors and managers to speed up the civil works.

Marcos highlighted the importance of getting the expansion works done as planned. For one, the third leg of the CAVITEX-C5 Link will wrap up the expressway that seeks to bring down the travel time from Coastal Road to Taguig City to 30 minutes.

Similarly, the CAVITEX-CALAX Link may run for just 1.2 kilometers, but it will provide direct access between the two toll roads for the convenience of motorists.

In May, CIC awarded the P3.3 billion contract for the third section of the CAVITEX-C5 Link to D.M. Consunji Inc. and the P1.79 billion deal for the CAVITEX-CALAX Link to EEI Corp.

“The presidential imprimatur has resonated as the President’s marching order for our CIC project managers and our two contractors is to speed up construction so the two segments will be ready for full operations in August 2025,” Ignacio said.

With presidential support in hand, Ignacio believes CIC can resolve ROW issues that may come its way. The concessionaire managing CAVITEX is employing a mix of strategies to address the financial and legal concerns of affected persons.

The public and private sectors face project delays usually as a result of ROW procurement. The Metro Pacific Group, for example, has struggled to complete the entirety of CALAX on time, as it had to deal with ROW delays in the Cavite leg of the tollway.

In spite of this, there is confidence from MPTC that its projects in the south of Metro Manila will all be completed as scheduled by the third quarter of 2025.

“With this new impetus from the Palace, we will beat our construction deadline, and the winner is every motorist and passenger south of Metro Manila and beyond,” Ignacio said.