NLEX rehab to push through

After a seven-year delay, the modernization and rehabilitation of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) may finally push through in April, Renato Diaz, presidential adviser for regional development covering Northern Luzon, said yesterday.

"The government has given assurance to creditor banks of the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) that in the event that MNTC defaults on its loans, the creditor banks have the right to nominate who will operate the tollway," Diaz said.

At the same time, Diaz announced, the government has agreed to release next month some P1 billion for right-of way acquisition for the widening of the NLEX

"With those twin moves, we were able to remove the obstacles to the completion of the rehabilitation and modernization of the NLEX," Diaz said.

MNTC, the Lopez-controlled consortium, had been unable to proceed with the project because the 30 bank creditors have been seeking some sort of government guarantee for their loan.

Among those who have been tapped to provide financing for the NLEX project are the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Finance Corp. (IFC), the French COFACE (Compagnie Francaise d’ Assurance Pour le Commerce Extenieur), the Export Financing and Insurance Corp. of Australia and the US Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.

The rehabilitation and modernization of NLEX will involve 83.7 kilometers of the expressway including the construction and rehabilitation of 14 interchanges, 24 bridges and 31 overpasses from the Balintawak exit in Manila up to the Sta. Ines exit at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Mabalacat, Pampanga. – Marianne Go