CALAX's Silang East Interchange section now open to motorists

The fourth section of the 45-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) is now open for motorists.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and  MPCALA Holdings Inc. on Tuesday inaugurated the CALAX’s Silang East Interchange Section, extending the operating sections of the toll road from 10 kilometers to 14.24 kilometers.

MPCALA is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), a unit of Pangilinan-led conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

With the completion of the Silang East of CALAX, motorists can now travel from Mamplasan in Biñan, Laguna, up to Silang East, exiting at Tibig Road, in Silang, Cavite.

The newly opened Silang East Interchange will serve 5,000 motorists and help decongest traffic coming from Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway, and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road.

Upon completion, CALAX will span 45-kilometers with eight interchanges at the following locations: Kawit, Governor’s Drive, Open Canal, Silang (Aguinaldo) Highway, Silang East, Santa Rosa-Tagaytay, Laguna Boulevard, and Laguna Technopark.

It shall serve about 45,000 vehicles while cutting travel time between Cavite and Laguna from 2 hours to under an hour.

The inaugural ceremony of the Silang East Interchange held on Tuesday morning was led by DPWH Secretary Mark Villar and was attended by Senator Bong Go, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla, and Mayor Corazon Poblete of Silang, Cavite.

Also in attendance are Metro Pacific Investment Corporation president Jose Ma. Lim, Metro Pacific Tollways president and CEO Rodrigo Franco, MPCALA president and CEO Robert Bontia.

“We are grateful for the trust and continued partnership with the government of the Philippines in providing the much-needed mobility infrastructure in the form of CALAX to help boost tourism and economic activity in the CALABARZON Region,” Bontia said.

"CALAX is included in the Luzon Spine Expressway Network -- a master plan aimed at increasing the high standard highway network by three-fold. We are now closer to our dream of connecting the northernmost part of Luzon to its southernmost portion. We are confident that we will be able to deliver the majority of this high-impact project within the term of President Rodrigo Duterte," Villar said.

As approved by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), the following toll rates in CALAX will now range from P14 to P64 for Class 1 vehicles, P29 to P128 for Class 2 vehicles, and P43 to P192 for Class 3 vehicles, depending on the vehicle’s entry and exit point.

Aside from CALAX, MPTC also holds the concession rights for Manila-Cavite-Toll Expressway (Cavitex), North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), NLEX Connector Road, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), and Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) in Cebu. —KBK, GMA News