The Metro Pacific Group is supporting the proposal of conglomerates Ayala Corp. and SM Group to build the C3 Elevated Expressway, despite the objection of San Miguel Corp.
Rodrigo Franco, president and chief executive of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., said the 8.6-kilometer C3 Expressway from Sta. Mesa, Manila to Makati and then to SM Mall of Asia complex would complement existing toll roads in easing traffic congestion in the metropolis.
MPTC is the builder and operator of Manila Cavite Expressway. It also operates North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.
“MOA is near Cavitex. Certainly it will interconnect with Cavitex so that’s good. There will be connection, so it’s complementary,” Franco said.
C3 Expressway aims to provide an alternative to congested Edsa and improve access to the Manila Bay development areas, the Makati central business district and the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan and Manila. It will have interchanges in Sta. Mesa, the Circuit Makati, Ayala-Gil Puyat, Roxas Boulevard and MOA.
The elevated toll road will run about 8.6 kilometers, linking Sta. Mesa, Manila to the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.
“I don’t think there will be competition. It will give motorists option on which alignment to take. As traffic continues to grow, all others will have their own users,” Franco said.
San Miguel president Ramon Ang earlier opposed the P26-billion unsolicited proposal to build C3 Expressway because it could affect the viability of the Naia Expressway, which a unit of San Miguel built.
Ang also said San Miguel had submitted another proposal to the Public Works Department and Toll Regulatory Board for the extension of Skyway.
The Skyway Buendia extension proposes to put up an elevated structure traversing Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, which will start at the Gil Puyat Interchange along Osmeña Highway and end at Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard.
When asked if the Ayala-SM group’s proposal could affect San Miguel’s expressway project, Franco said, “maybe a little bit because they are both going to the south.”
“But if you look at it positively, there will be additional traffic in the long term. It gives you access to other areas,” he said.
“Actually there’s no exclusivity if the government allows them, there’s nothing we can do. We just find a way to interconnect with them,” Franco said.
MPTC is also constructing Cavite Laguna Expressway, NLEx Connector Road and Cebu-Cordova Bridge Project.
