MANILA, Philippines – Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has submitted to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) an alignment proposal to build an expressway to connect Cavite, Tagaytay and Batangas for P25 billion.

“We have an alignment proposal to the DPWH. It’s called the Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway (CTBEX),” MPCALA Holdings Inc. president Luigi Bautista told reporters.

MPCALA Holdings, a subsidiary of MPIC’s tollway arm Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., is the company undertaking the construction of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAx).

Bautista said the proposal is an extension of the CALAx. The CALAx will start from Kawit in Cavite to South Luzon Expressway (SLEX)-Mamplasan interchange in Biñan, Laguna.

The proposed CTBEX covering about 46 kilometers, will start from the Silang interchange of CALAx, link to Tagaytay and connect to Nasugbu.

Bautista said the group would still need to finish the design, as well as feasibility study of the proposed expressway.

“Once DPWH approves the alignment, it would become an unsolicited proposal. If we get the original proponent status, that’s when we will do the detailed engineering design,” he said.

He also said the proposed expressway is not expected to compete with the proposal of San Miguel Corp. to build the Tanauan-Tagaytay Expressway.

MPIC currently operates the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway, North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

Aside from CALAx, MPIC also bagged other toll projects such as the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway and NLEX-SLEX Connector Road.

By Louella Desiderio