InterAksyon, 19 December 2013
By Darwin G. Amojelar
MANILA – A public-private partnership (PPP) project that would decongest traffic between the southern part of Metro Manila and the province of Cavite would no longer be completed as scheduled in June next year.
PPP executive director Cosette Canilao told reporters that the project can be completed no earlier than September after the proponent, Ayala Corp (AC), and the operator of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) agreed on the interconnection only last week.
The first PPP venture of the Aquino administration, the P1.956-billion Daan Hari-SLEX Link Project, which was bid out in December 2011, hit a roadblock after Ayala and the South Luzon Tollways Corp (SLTC) failed to agree on how the new road would intersect with SLEX. SLTC, which is controlled by San Miguel Corp, operates SLEX.
Canilao said the agreement between the two companies came after the revised design of the project incorporated an expansion of SLEX to six lanes from the existing four.
She said project completion date would also depend on how fast the government can acquire right of way.
The project will provide southern Metro Manila with a high-standard highway within a 200-kilometer radius of the Philippine capital, serving as an alternative route to Cavite, decongesting traffic in some parts of the province and Las Pinas and Muntinlupa, specifically the Alabang-Zapote Road and Commerce Avenue.
