Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The much-awaited expressway to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will be opened to the public at the stroke of midnight on Thursday.
The first segment of the elevated expressway will link Terminals 1 and 2 in Parañaque to Macapagal Boulevard and PAGCOR Entertainment City in Pasay. It will be free to motorists for the first month.
“This project would effectively improve traffic flow in the area and will cut travel time by at least 60%,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said in a statement.
A second segment of the expressway is still under construction, but it is slated to open to the public by December. This will connect Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to the Skyway and the South Luzon Expressway.
Villa said construction was being carried out 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure the project would meet the deadline.
San Miguel Corp. President Ramon Ang said, “Finally, our countrymen will feel the benefit of having faster and more direct access to NAIA Terminals 1, 2, and 3. It will also go a long way in easing traffic congestion in surrounding cities, and support growth in southern Metro Manila.”
San Miguel won the ₱20.45-billion contract to construct and operate the expressway back in April 2013.
The project is expected to benefit 80,000 travellers a day, reducing travel time from the Skyway to Terminal 1 to 8 minutes from 24 minutes.
Once completed, the NAIA expressway will span nearly 15 kilometers, with off-ramps to strategic locations, such as Villamor Airbase, casino complex ResortsWorld, and the Cavite expressway.
21 September 2016
By Claire Jiao
