Cavite-Laguna Expressway groundbreaking

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the MPCALA Holdings, Inc., a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) holds a ground-breaking ceremony for the Php35.43 billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAx) project. CALAx is a PPP project included in the country’s Build Build Build program of the Duterte administration. Attending the ceremony are DPWH Secretary Mark Villar who operated the backhoe signaling the start of the construction activities for the 4-lane, 44.63 km closed-system toll expressway that will connect CAVITEX and SLEX. Joining Secretary Villar are Mr. Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman of MPIC, Secretary for Budget and Management (DBM) Benjamin Diokno and Secretary of Transportation Arthur Tugade. MPCALA Holdings, Inc. is the private partner of the DPWH for the CALAx tasked to finance, design, construct, as well as operate and maintain the PPP project. According to Pangilinan, they are committed to complete the project during the term of President Duterte. Secretary Villar on the other hand shared that the DPWH is hard at work to provide the necessary Right of Way (ROW) for the project. Once built, the CALAx will cut short the travel time from CAVITEX to SLEX from one and a half hours to 45 minutes. It is also expected to generate some 3,000 direct jobs.