SCTEX toll up starting October 17

MANILA, Philippines — Motorists traveling through the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) would have to pay P0.64 more per kilometer in toll fee beginning Oct. 17.

In an advisory, the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corp., operator of SCTEX, announced that it has secured clearance from the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to raise toll fees.

The latest SCTEX toll fee rate hike forms part of the periodic adjustments due for 2021 and this year, as allowed under NLEX’s concession deal with the government.

However, the TRB decided to divide the rate adjustments in tranches to cushion their impact on motorists already hurting from rising prices, especially of fuel.

The Oct.17 implementation will be the first of the three tranches.

Under the new toll fee matrix, motorists who pass through SCTEX from end to end would have to pay an additional P65 for Class 1 vehicles, P131 for Class 2 and P196 for Class 3.

For the stretch between Mabalacat City in Pampanga and Tarlac, SCTEX will collect P25 for Class 1 vehicles, P50 for Class 2 and P75 for Class 3.

Motorists will be charged P40, P81 and P121 more for Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 vehicles, respectively, passing through Mabalacat City and Tipo, Hermosa, Bataan or vice versa.

NLEX Corp. noted that the fare adjustments were approved by the TRB in August, but the firm opted to implement the first increase in October in the light of the unsettling inflation situation.

NLEX Corp., as the concessionaire of SCTEX, has committed to sustain its enhancement projects on the expressway. The company has undertaken a number of system upgrades to improve customer experience.

The firm earlier fixed the roadway lights and replaced damaged pavements to minimize traffic risks.

Last year the operator completed a road-raising project at the Dinalupihan segment of SCTEX, a section that used to be prone to flooding.

In September, NLEX Corp. reopened the Pasig Potrero Bridge along SCTEX after more than two months of repair and rehabilitation, easing road travel between Clark and Subic.

NLEX Corp., a subsidiary of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the toll road builder of the Metro Pacific Investments Corp., also holds the concession to operate and maintain NLEX and the NLEX Connector Road.