MNTC to start P10.5-B Metro skyway project

MALOLOS CITY , Philippines   â€“ Metro Manila’s skyline will be radically altered by 2016.

The Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) broke ground yesterday for the P10.5-billion segment 10 of the Harbor Link road project at the Philippine National Railways compound in Caloocan City.

The ground breaking came more than a month after the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) and the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) signed a joint venture agreement that gave the green light for the Metro Express Link project last Jan. 21.

The Harbor Link project is part of the Metro Express Link project that will stretch from the Smart Connect toll plaza along the North Luzon Expressway to Karuhatan in Valenzuela City then to C-3 road in Caloocan City and eventually to Sta. Mesa, Manila near the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

The 5.6-kilometer elevated Harbor Link road project will start this month and is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.

Ramoncito Fernandez, president and chief operating officer of MPTC, said the project would radically alter Metro Manila’s skyline because parts of the Harbor Link road would be six to 10 stories high or at least 60 to 100 feet.

He also said that the construction of the Harbor Link project would have less impact on traffic in western Metro Manila because it would be constructed on top of the old Philippine National Railways (PNR) right of way.

Rodrigo Franco, president and CEO of the MNTC, said the Harbor Link road would start where the 2.4-kilometer Mindanao Avenue Extension ends in MacArthur Highway at Barangay Karuhatan in Valenzuela City.

A ramp will link the Harbor Link road and the Mindanao Avenue Extension.

From there, Harbor Link road will cross the MacArthur Highway until it reaches the PNR right of way in Francisco street in Marulas, Valenzuela City. From Marulas, the Harbor Link will be on top of the old PNR right of way.