MPIC groundbreaks South Link Expressway

MANILA, Philippines – Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) unit Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC) on Friday broke ground for the 7.7-kilometer (km) six-lane C-5 South Link Expressway which would connect C-5 road to the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (Cavitex).

The expressway which seeks to decongest traffic by linking major business districts in Makati and Taguig areas to Parañaque, Las Piñas and Cavite, has two phases.

Phase 1 will cover a flyover to connect C-5 Road in Taguig to Merville in Sucat, Parañaque and cost around P2.5 billion.

Phase 2, meanwhile, will be from Merville to Coastal Road (Cavitex) and is estimated to cost around P7.5 billion.

CIC said earlier construction of Phase 1 is expected to commence by July, after the Skyway operator Skyway O&M Co. gives its no-objection to the project and CIC is able to raise the funds.

CIC president Luigi Bautista told reporters the firm is currently in negotiations with banks to secure financing for the first phase of the project.

The project will be funded through 70 percent debt and 30 percent equity from the company.

Targeted for completion by 2019, the expressway is expected to be used by 40,000 to 45,000 vehicles when it starts commercial operation.

“South Metro Manila is composed mostly of residential areas. Most people living here are working in Makati, Taguig and Ortigas. So during rush hour, there is a large volume of vehicles that travel daily, resulting in traffic congestion in EDSA and C5,” he said.

Through the C-5 South Link, he said those coming from Cavite, Las Piñas and parts of Parañaque would be able to avoid EDSA and take a direct link to and from C-5 to Cavitex.

The C-5 South Link when completed, will also provide a seamless connection to the 45-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway awarded to the MPIC under the public-private partnership program and is slated for completion in 2020. 

Once operational, Bautista said the C-5 South Link is expected to contribute about 15 percent of the revenues of MPIC’s tollway arm Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC).

MPIC, through MPTC, is the largest toll operator in the country.

Aside from the Cavitex network of toll roads, the group operates the North Luzon Expressway and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.