NLEX repair underway until September

MANILA, Philippines — The Metro Pacific Group has hit the ground running for the annual maintenance of its tollways to the north of Luzon, where it plans to spend a portion of the proceeds it will get from toll hikes.

The Metro Pacific Group yesterday announced that it is undertaking its annual road maintenance for the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

NLEX Corp., the concessionaire managing NLEX and SCTEX, will finance the program through the revenues it is gaining from the collection of additional toll from motorists.

NLEX Corp. has received regulatory approval to impose another round of toll hikes of as much as P81 for end-to-end travel in NLEX. Aside from this, the company raised toll rates in 2023 as part of its periodic adjustments for 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2020.

For this year’s road maintenance, NLEX Corp. will improve the pavement for certain portions of both NLEX and SCTEX. The repair targets to cover at least 63,195.8 square meters of NLEX as well as 39,201.14 sqm of SCTEX.

NLEX Corp. will do asphalt resurfacing for sections with major damage, and the concessionaire will carry out patching works for areas with minor flaws.

If things go as planned, NLEX Corp. should be able to finish the annual repair by September, in time for the expected traffic surge in the lead-up to the holidays.

Prior to this, NLEX Corp. completed the repair of nine bridges and overpasses in NLEX. It is also strengthening for future use the Pasig-Potrero Bridge, one of the access roads between Clark and Subic.

Further, NLEX Corp. is refurbishing roadway furniture like markings and signages, as these play a crucial role in facilitating expressway traffic. The company has put in place traffic measures to minimize mobility disruption resulting from the civil works.

For 2024, NLEX Corp. has allocated nearly P9 billion for some of its major works expanding the tollways it is running. For one, NLEX Corp. will invest P2.1 billion to build the first segment of an access road leading to the C5 Road.

NLEX Corp. will also spend P6.5 billion to deliver a road widening project in the San Fernando section of NLEX for the convenience of motorists.

The road operator serves as a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., and holds the concession for the operations and maintenance of NLEX and SCTEX.