MANILA – The use of Skyway Stage 3 will remain free of charge as long as San Miguel Corp, who built and funded the project, can shoulder the costs, its president Ramon Ang said Thursday.

“Hindi naman kami nagmamadali. Hangga’t kaya namin, kargahin po namin ‘yun (We are not in a hurry. As long as we can should the cost),” the businessman told reporters on site.

“Can you imagine? May pandemic tapos nagmamadali pa tayo magkolekta? Hindi ganun priority natin. (There’s a pandemic and then a rush to collect toll? That’s not our priority.) Ang priority (our priority) is to finish the project and cooperate for better service.” he added.

When asked until when the company could shoulder the costs, Ang said: “Actually mahaba pisi natin. Matagal pa ito.” (We still have a lot of funds. This will take time)

Ang, along with public works officials led the inspection of the Nagtahan off-ramp which is set to open on late Thursday. Motorists coming from Alabang or Makati could take the ramp to reach Manila.

San Miguel formally opened the 18-km elevated Skyway Stage 3 to the public in Jan. 14 and has not yet collected toll ever since.

To date, the Skyway Stage 3 project is 97.68 percent complete, excluding Section 2A or the Nagtahan-Tomas Claudio Section.

SMC earlier announced it had to close the elevated expressway in compliance with a Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) order, which the agency later denied. The closure did not push through after Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade sorted the issue, Ang earlier said.

The following provisional toll rates, lower compared to the proposed rates by SMC, were approved by the TRB in March:

CLASS 1:
• Buendia to Sta Mesa: P105
• Sta Mesa to Ramon Magsaysay: 30
• Ramon Magsaysay to NLEx Balintawak: P129
• Buendia to NLEx: P264

SMC-proposed rates:
• CLASS 1:
• Buendia to Sta Mesa: P110
• Sta Mesa to Ramon Magsaysay: P31
• Ramon Magsaysay to NLEx Balintawak: P133
• Buendia to NLEx: P274

The Skyway Stage 3 connects the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the South Luzon Expressway, designed to decongest major Metro Manila thoroughfares and ease traffic on EDSA.