THE operator of the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) has received regulatory approval from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the alignment of its road linkage project which aims to connect the said thoroughfare to the Circumferential Road 5 (C-5) in Manila.

Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Luigi L. Bautista said that construction of the C-5 Link Expressway will start next quarter, once the firm receives the approval from the Toll Regulatory Board.

“The alignment for the road has already been approved by the DPWH and we are set to go to TRB to present our plans,” he told reporters in a chance interview.

Initial works, which include the development of the detailed engineering and design, will start by the third quarter, he said.

“We want to start construction in the third quarter of the year, but it will start with the detailed engineering and design. Work on the ground will start early next year,” he said.

C-5 Link Expressway is a 7-kilometer road which will take off from C-5 and will cross over the South Luzon Expressway and will pass through Radial Road (R-1) in Metro Manila.

The project, Bautista said, will be financed through internally generated funds.

He noted that the firm was able to reach P1 billion in revenues last year, and is projecting a 20-percent increase in its topline by yearend.

“This year, we should be hitting P1.2 billion,” Bautista said.

Cavitex services an average of 102,000 vehicles daily, and the figure is expected to rise by 6 percent by end-December.

The thoroughfare operator will also launch next month an automatic toll payment system that would facilitate seamless traffic along the Cavitex.

EasyDrive, a paper-thin, battery-less radio frequency identification sticker tag, will effectively eliminate queuing at the toll plazas along the thoroughfare.

Cavitex Infrastructure is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. which is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investment Corp. led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

 

09 April 2014

By Lorenz S. Marasigan