MPTC to open 1st section of C5 South Link by May

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the road infrastructure arm of conglomerate Metro Pacific Investment Corp., plans to open the first section of the P10-billion C5 South Link Expressway project of the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (CAVITEX) by May after missing its earlier inauguration target of first quarter.

“We expect to open in two months’ time the first section of the C5 South Link,” MPTC president and CEO Rodrigo Franco said.

MPTC was previously eyeing to deliver the first section of C5 South Link project within the first quarter.

The project involves the construction of the first 2.2-kilometer section, which connects C5 to Merville in Parañaque.

Once it is opened, travel time from Parañaque, Las Piñas and Cavite to Taguig is expected to be reduced to 20 to 30 minutes from the usual one and a half hour drive with the direct access to C5.

Meanwhile, MPTC unit NLEX Corp. said the new Karuhatan interchange at the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 is now open to further advance productivity and deliver travel convenience as motorists from MacArthur Highway, Valenzuela City and surrounding areas will have a faster way to get to C3 in Caloocan City and vice versa.

“The new interchange, with entry and exit toll plazas, is expected to further decongest traffic at the Balintawak southbound since it will provide better access and improve connectivity of our expressways to and from the MacArthur Highway and other local roads,” NLEX president and general manager Luigi Bautista said.

Bautista said more than 100,000 vehicles have been reduced at Balintawak southbound as motorists bound for Manila Port discover the travel convenience brought by NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 since it opened last Feb. 28.

The NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 is a 5.65-kilometer, six-lane elevated expressway traversing the cities of Valenzuela, Malabon up to the new Caloocan Interchange in C3, Caloocan City.  It will also include the construction 2.6-kilometer section from C3 to R10, Navotas City.

“We are rushing the completion of the C3-R10 section by December this year to immediately address the congestion being experienced in the area especially at peak hours,” Bautista said.

A month after its opening, traffic volume at the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 has steadily risen, with more than 200,000 vehicles served from both northbound and southbound directions.

MPTC holds in its portfolio of projects the NLEX, SCTEX, CAVITEX and current construction projects C5-South Link, Connector Road, Cavite-Laguna-Expressway, and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway in Cebu.