NLEX pours in P650 million for road repair

MANILA, Philippines — North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corp. is investing P650 million this year for the repair of damaged sections of its tollways to improve their safety and serviceability.

Responding to a query from The STAR, NLEX Corp. said that it is spending nearly three fourths of a billion pesos for the annual road maintenance of NLEX and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

“We have allocated around P650 million for the NLEX-SCTEX 2024 road repair program, which includes heavy maintenance works and pavement repairs,” NLEX Corp. said.

Last week, NLEX Corp. kicked off the civil works for the annual maintenance of its toll roads. It is funding the program through the revenues that it is generating from the collection of additional toll from travelers.

Recently, the company received government approval to enforce another round of toll hikes of as much as P81 for end-to-end travel in NLEX. Prior to this, the company increased the rates in 2023 to cover the delayed adjustments for 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2020.

Based on the program’s design, the expressway operator is improving the pavement for certain segments of its expressways, spanning 63,195.8 square meters in NLEX and 39,201.14 sqm in SCTEX.

NLEX Corp. is resurfacing the asphalt for sections with major damage and the concessionaire is also patching up the concrete in areas with minor flaws.

If things go as scheduled, the company should be able to finish the annual repair by September, in time for the usual traffic surge in the months leading to the Christmas season.

Apart from this, NLEX Corp. is improving the stability of nine bridges and overpasses in NLEX, including the Pasig-Potrero Bridge, one of the access roads connecting Clark and Subic. Further, the company is refurbishing roadway assets, such as markings and signages, that aid motorists in their travel along the tollways.

For 2024, NLEX Corp. is also shelling out about P9 billion to finance expansion works in the toll roads that it is managing. For one, NLEX Corp. will invest P2.1 billion to put up the initial phase of a direct access from NLEX to C5 Road.