The tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. has seen a 5 to 6 percent surge in traffic volume in the second quarter compared to the pre-pandemic level in 2019 and is optimistic to sustain the growth despite the increase in fuel prices.
Chistopher Lizo, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) chief finance officer, said the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) exceeded the traffic volume in 2019.
“In total, across the network, I think we are maybe five to six percent above the 2019 traffic volumes. That’s excluding the new roads that opened,” Lizo said during a recent press briefing.
He added traffic growth in NLEX and SCTEX is higher compared to Cavitex which has 140,000 vehicles a day.
Despite the significant increase in fuel prices last month, MPTC has not felt the impact, although the tollway operator saw a slowdown in traffic in the first five days of July, said Lizo.
“A few percent, maybe six percent (down in July), compared to June. It’s also a function of seasonality because the traffic peaks in the second quarter, summer. So it’s too early to say how much the fuel price increase has affected traffic,” he said.
“We are just hoping the impact is temporary. We saw that in June. Despite the fuel price increase, I think people are just happy that they can go out. Local tourism is very strong because not all people can afford to go out of the country. We saw that in SCTEX, we saw that in Calax (Cavite-Laguna Expressway), so hopefully it will be sustained for the rest of the year,” Lizo added.
Meanwhile, the new interchange of Calax is set to be operational in the second half this year, extending Calax’s operational sections from Mamplasan, Laguna to Aguinaldo Highway in Silang, Cavite.
To date, the Calax segment, 3.9-kilometer Silang, Aguinaldo Interchange, has reached 56 percent completion rate. Part of the ongoing works include drainage and bridge construction, excavation and roadway earthworks, and installation of fence and coco net.
“The Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange will help decongest the busiest highway in the province of Cavite — the 41-kilometer Emilio Aguinaldo Highway. Motorists from Manila going to the famous tourist destinations of Silang and Tagaytay, Cavite will surely benefit from this upcoming project as it offers convenience and shorter travel time,” said Raul Ignacio, president and general manager of MPCALA Holdings Inc., a unit of MPTC.
Once operational, the Silang Aguinaldo Interchange, aside from the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road Interchange, will be a convenient alternative exit of Calax for motorists coming from Metro Manila going to the country’s second summer capital, Tagaytay City. The interchange is 16 km. away from the city proper of Tagaytay via Aguinaldo Highway, and the travel time is around 20 minutes only.
Other interchanges of Calax — Open Canal, Governor’s Drive and Kawit — are targeted to be completed by 2023.
Currently, Calax’s operational segment spans 14.24 km. with interchanges at Greenfield-Mamplasan, Laguna Technopark, Laguna Boulevard, Santa Rosa-Tagaytay and Silang East.
Upon completion of the entire Calax project, it will connect to Cavitex in Kawit, Cavite.
MPTC is the biggest toll road developer and operator in the Philippines which operates Calax, Cavitex, NLEX, SCTEX, NLEX connector road and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway in Cebu.
