President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to enforce the proposed 30-day toll fee suspension on the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (CAVITEX) to ease the financial burden of motorists amid rising fuel prices.
The President issued the directive as he joined executives of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) in the ground-breaking rites for the P2.2 billion Cavitex-Calax Link (CCLink) and the P4.1-billion Cavitex C5 Link Segment 3B.
“The PRA or the Philippine Reclamation Authority, as operator of the Cavitex, proposed to suspend the collection of toll fees for all types of vehicles passing through the Manila-Cavite expressway in Taguig, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Bacoor and Kawit for 30 days, and this will introduce our new roads and expressways to those who are in need of that transport system,” the President said in his speech at the ground-breaking ceremony for CAVITEX in Parañaque.
“We welcome this call and thank the PRA for its initiative to help mitigate the impact of rising fuel costs to our motorists. I now call upon the Toll Regulatory Board to ensure the immediate implementation for the benefit of the riding and transport public,” he added.
The Chief Executive lauded the inauguration of the infrastructure project connecting major roads in Sucat with CAVITEX, reducing travel time from CAVITEX R1 to Sucat, Parañaque City, to just five minutes.
This project, expected to benefit 23,000 vehicles daily, marks a significant improvement from the previous one-hour journey.
He also highlighted the importance of the projected CAVITEX C5 Link Expressway Segment 3B, a two-kilometer road from the Sucat Interchange to E. Rodriguez in C5 Road, Taguig City.
Once completed, this stretch will cut travel time from CAVITEX R1 Expressway Section to SLEX/C5 Road from 40 minutes to just 10 minutes.
President Marcos urged the people to take advantage of the expressways and experience the ease and convenience the roads will bring to their daily lives.
The Cavitex-Calax Link will span 1.3 km with 2×2 lanes, linking MPTC’s toll road networks in the south — the Cavitex and the ongoing Cavite-Laguna Expressway.
Raul Ignacio, president and general manager of Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC) said the target completion of the CCLink is by August next year, in time for the full operations of Calax.
Ignacio said the Cavitex C5 Link Segment 3B , spanning two kilometers to connect Cavitex Paranaque in the West and C5 Road Taguig in the East, is expected to be completed by August 2025. The segment is seen to serve 8,000 motorists daily.
Once completed, the Cavitex C5 Link will serve some 50,000 motorists daily, reducing travel time to Taguig and Pasay by 30 to 45 minutes.
It will also help decongest the E. de los Santos Ave., as well as the MIA Rod and Roxas Blvd. traversing Manila, Pasay, and Paranaque.
Meanwhile, the Cavitex C5 Link Sucat Interchange will be opened to the motoring public starting 6 pm of June 21, 2024. For a limited time, motorists will get to enjoy this segment for free.
The Cavitex C5 Link Segment 2 is a 1.9 km, 2X3 lane expressway that connects Cavitex R1
(Coastal Road) from Paranaque Toll Plaza to Sucat through the R-1 Interchange. With this newly opened segment, around 16,000 motorists are expected to enjoy a reduced travel time from Cavitex to Sucat Road and vice versa.
“We have always been believers in the potential of PPPs and we thank his Excellency President Marcos for his prudent governance as well as members of his cabinet who have made it easy to undertake monumental projects in collaboration with the government, “ MPTC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.
“ We are confident that our continued collaboration will help the Filipino people welcome even more success, and ultimately give rise to a nation that is more competitive, inclusive and united- one we can be proud to bequeath for future generations,’ he added.
Aside from Cavitex and Calax, the MPTC also holds concession rights for North Luzon Expressway, NLEX Connector Road, Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway, Cebu Cordova Expressway and some toll road projects in Indonesia.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Marcos orders enforcement of 30-day toll fee suspension in CAVITEX”
