MPTC seeking DPWH nod to build link between NLEX Connector to Skyway 3

The Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) is looking to secure the Department of Public Works and Highway’s (DPWH) nod to build a 1.2-kilometer road that will connect the eight-kilometer North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Connector to San Miguel Corp.’s (SMC) 18-kilometer Skyway Stage 3.

In an interview with reporters on Thursday,  MPTC chief financial Chris Lizo said this was for a seamless connection between the northern and southern parts of Metro Manila.

Lizo said the company sent a letter to the DPWH two weeks ago to tell the agency that the company was willing to construct the interconnection road.

“We’re willing to do the interconnection,” Lizo said, adding that constructing the 1.2-kilometer road would add another P2 billion to the project cost of the NLEX Connector project.

The interconnection road, which is part of the detailed engineering design of the Skyway 3 project, will connect Section 2 of the NLEX Connector (España-PUP Sta. Mesa) to Skyway 3’s Plaza Dilao segment.

Lizo said the Toll Regulatory Board could amend its concession agreement with SMC to allow the MPTC to build the 1.2-kilometer interconnection.

In a statement dated January 2021, SMC blamed right-of-way acquisition constraints for the delay in the construction of the link road.

Lizo said the interconnection road would allow seamless travel of Class 3 vehicles or trucks from the Port Area to the southern parts of Metro Manila.

While waiting for the DPWH’s response, he said MPTC would look for an alternative alignment that would allow it to cross the Pasig River.

The NLEX Connector Road project is a public-private partnership (PPP) between the DPWH and Metro Pacific-led NLEX Corp.

NLEX Corp. is a unit of the MPTC, the toll road arm of the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC).

The NLEX Connector is a four-lane, all-vehicle class elevated expressway. It spans eight kilometers and terminates at the vicinity of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

It passes through Tondo, Sta. Cruz, Sampaloc, and Sta. Mesa in Manila has three interchanges located at C3 Road/5th Avenue in Caloocan, España Boulevard, and R. Magsaysay Boulevard in Manila.

The NLEX Connector project runs mostly above the alignment of the Philippine National Railways (PNR).

NLEX Corp. said the project was seen to reduce travel time from NLEX to South Luzon by at least 60% and is expected to enhance the journey between international airports such as NAIA and Clark and will stimulate development between Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces. —NB, GMA Integrated News