Three major expressway projects of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) worth P328.8 billion are set to jump-start construction by next year, according to the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).
These projects are the Northern Access Link Expressway (NALEX) valued at P148.3 billion, Southern Access Link Expressway (SALEX) costing P152.3 billion and South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 5 (SLEX TR5) worth P28.15 billion.
The TRB already approved these projects.
For the NALEX, the project proponent has submitted the final engineering design and it is due for approval, said Alvin Carullo, TRB executive director.
“We already implemented what we call Balintawak Advanced Works, by last quarter of this year, full blast implementation of NALEX,” he added.
The final engineering design for the SALEX is due for submission on June 27, 2024.
Carullo said construction works for the SALEX as well as for the TR5 will hopefully start early next year.
The SLEX TR5 Segment 1 alignment starts at the termination point of the SLEX Phase II at the TR4 Project in Barangay Mayao, Lucena City, Quezon, and ends in Gumaca, Quezon.
The total length of Segment 1 is approximately 61 kilometers. It will have four interchanges located in Pagbilao, Atimonan, Agdangan and Gumaca.
NALEX is component 1 of the greater capital region integrated expressways network. It consists of two phases.
NALEX Phase 1 is a proposed 136.4-km expressway that is envisioned to provide connectivity between the Metro/Mega Manila, New Manila International Airport and Central Luzon as an extension and/or linkage of the Metro Manila Skyway-Stage 3 (MMSS3) Balintawak.
NALEX Phase 2 is a demand-driven expansion from Masantol in Pampanga to Tarlac City.
SALEX is a 40.65-km elevated expressway network comprising the Shoreline Expressway and three MMSS3 extensions, namely, C3-R10 Extension, Quirino Extension and Buendia Extension.
Aside from these projects, TRB said the implementation of the P95-billion Pasig River Expressway is also being pursued. Its construction may begin next year once SMC secures the environmental compliance certificate and other requirements.
