Monday, August 27, 2018
San Miguel set to start Quezon toll road project
The tollway unit of San Miguel Corp. will start the construction of the P13.1-billion Southern Luzon Expressway-Toll Road 4 that will extend the highway from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City in Quezon province this year, the Public Works Department said over the weekend.
“We are targeting to start the construction of an expressway from Star Toll to Lucena in Quezon by third quarter of the year,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.
Villar said the agency already acquired more than 5 kilometers of right of way for the project.
The four-lane, 58-kilometer expressway project is expected to make travel from Southern Tagalog provinces such as Batangas, Laguna and Quezon to Bicol Region faster and safer.
The project is divided into five sections. Section 1 covers Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Macban, Laguna (10.58 km); Macban, Laguna to San Pablo, Laguna (12.2 km); San Pablo, Laguna to Tiaong, Quezon (8.1-km); Tiaong to Candelaria, Quezon (14.4 km); and Candelaria to Lucena City, Quezon (12.31-km).
The project is expected to cut travel time between Sto. Tomas and Lucena to just one hour from the usual four hours. South Luzon Tollways Corp., a unit of San Miguel, is the proponent of the project.
SLEX-TR4 is the latest project in San Miguel’s infrastructure portfolio, which already includes the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, the Skyway Stage 3 project, the Naia Expressway project, the existing South Luzon Expressway and the recently upgraded and expanded Southern Tagalog Arterial Road or Star Tollway.
San Miguel also submitted an unsolicited proposal to the DPWH to extend TPLEx to San Juan, La Union from Rosario town for P23.95 billion.
The project involves a 59.4-kilometer four-lane toll road starting from the exit of TPLEx in Rosario to San Juan. The Rosario section of the expressway is expected to be completed this year, while its Pozorrubio section opened in December 2017.
The extension project would be divided into three segments, with the first segment spanning 18 km from Rosario to Tubao. The second segment will stretch 23 km from Tubao to Naguilian and the last segment will run 18.4 km from Naguilian to San Juan.
San Miguel said the project aimed to promote the development of Northern Luzon and facilitate connectivity to Central Luzon and Metro Manila through high-speed and secure access.
San Miguel earlier said it was looking to invest about P168 billion to construct modern tollroads and highways that are at par with those of neighboring Asian countries.
http://www.thestandard.com.ph/business/biz-plus/273989/san-miguel-set-to-start-quezon-toll-road-project.html
“We are targeting to start the construction of an expressway from Star Toll to Lucena in Quezon by third quarter of the year,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.
Villar said the agency already acquired more than 5 kilometers of right of way for the project.
The four-lane, 58-kilometer expressway project is expected to make travel from Southern Tagalog provinces such as Batangas, Laguna and Quezon to Bicol Region faster and safer.
The project is divided into five sections. Section 1 covers Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Macban, Laguna (10.58 km); Macban, Laguna to San Pablo, Laguna (12.2 km); San Pablo, Laguna to Tiaong, Quezon (8.1-km); Tiaong to Candelaria, Quezon (14.4 km); and Candelaria to Lucena City, Quezon (12.31-km).
The project is expected to cut travel time between Sto. Tomas and Lucena to just one hour from the usual four hours. South Luzon Tollways Corp., a unit of San Miguel, is the proponent of the project.
SLEX-TR4 is the latest project in San Miguel’s infrastructure portfolio, which already includes the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, the Skyway Stage 3 project, the Naia Expressway project, the existing South Luzon Expressway and the recently upgraded and expanded Southern Tagalog Arterial Road or Star Tollway.
San Miguel also submitted an unsolicited proposal to the DPWH to extend TPLEx to San Juan, La Union from Rosario town for P23.95 billion.
The project involves a 59.4-kilometer four-lane toll road starting from the exit of TPLEx in Rosario to San Juan. The Rosario section of the expressway is expected to be completed this year, while its Pozorrubio section opened in December 2017.
The extension project would be divided into three segments, with the first segment spanning 18 km from Rosario to Tubao. The second segment will stretch 23 km from Tubao to Naguilian and the last segment will run 18.4 km from Naguilian to San Juan.
San Miguel said the project aimed to promote the development of Northern Luzon and facilitate connectivity to Central Luzon and Metro Manila through high-speed and secure access.
San Miguel earlier said it was looking to invest about P168 billion to construct modern tollroads and highways that are at par with those of neighboring Asian countries.
http://www.thestandard.com.ph/business/biz-plus/273989/san-miguel-set-to-start-quezon-toll-road-project.html
Friday, August 24, 2018
NLEE construction eyed in 2019 – Villar
By Franco Regala
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar is optimistic that the construction of the North-East Luzon Expressway (NELEX) can be started by 2019.
“We’ll finish the feasibility study this year and construction to start (hopefully) next year,” the secretary said in a recent interview.
He said that once NLEE is completed, portions of Maharlika Highway in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija will decongest. “It will also serve as fast alternative route for those vehicles bound for Cagayan Valley region. This will be connected to the Central Luzon Link Expressway,” Villar added.
NLEE is a 92.1-kilometer toll road that will start in Quezon City will traverse San Jose Del Monte City, Santa Maria, Norzagaray, Angat, San Ildefonso, and San Miguel in Bulacan as well as Gapan, Santa Rosa, and Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/23/nelex-construction-eyed-in-2019-villar/
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar is optimistic that the construction of the North-East Luzon Expressway (NELEX) can be started by 2019.
“We’ll finish the feasibility study this year and construction to start (hopefully) next year,” the secretary said in a recent interview.
He said that once NLEE is completed, portions of Maharlika Highway in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija will decongest. “It will also serve as fast alternative route for those vehicles bound for Cagayan Valley region. This will be connected to the Central Luzon Link Expressway,” Villar added.
NLEE is a 92.1-kilometer toll road that will start in Quezon City will traverse San Jose Del Monte City, Santa Maria, Norzagaray, Angat, San Ildefonso, and San Miguel in Bulacan as well as Gapan, Santa Rosa, and Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/23/nelex-construction-eyed-in-2019-villar/
We complicate things
An accomplished businessman wrote me to say we are needlessly complicating solutions to our problems:
“Inflation is going to eat into consumption unless we build infrastructure to bring in tourists.
“Build Build Build is being oversold. I guess that is the common thread of all administrations. Over promise and under deliver. Without doubt they should be managing expectations. But they should not have created them to start with... but more importantly… they need to focus on only two things:
“Infra for Manila traffic… elevated connector roads. Help Ramón Ang and MVP get the right of way. NLEX-SLEX connector, C6… etc;
“Infra for tourism. The southern airports; Clark and a new Manila airport. That is all the time they have.
“And how to finance it? First priority privatize… second, sell all the assets they have… SMC. Cocobank. All of NPC. etc.. They pride themselves in dividends… CAAP and PPA paying dividends… Mama mia. That is terrible. They should be building ports… Davao, Cebu, Manila all congested…
“Just look what happened when something was done…
“There were tons of traffic to MOA and the airport… San Miguel builds one measly NAIA expressway and the traffic disappeared… We do not have too many cars. We have too few roads… Two connector roads and C6 and you will see the change.”
I share his view. The bane of our existence as a nation is our propensity to complicate the simple. It is probably due to the number of surplus lawyers, specially in government, trying to make themselves appear useful.
It is also because of corruption endemic in our system. Officials and bureaucrats make things complicated because it is not easy to make illicit money when things or processes are simplified.
That was why I thought Duterte was different. He has this record of simplifying things in Davao City Hall. I was hoping he can do the same thing at the national level.
But the last two years showed the system is too entrenched for reform. Not even the much claimed political will of Duterte made a difference. Maybe he was too focused on drugs he didn’t try hard enough on other things.
Anyway, we need public officials who can reduce problems to simple terms. The previous and the current administrations failed to produce persons like that to head DOTr and DPWH.
The problems at NAIA are not new. It has a single international runway and has long exceeded the number of passengers it is rated to handle. Flights in and out are delayed costing airlines and passengers billions of pesos in losses. There is no room for a second parallel runway unless government has the political will to expropriate subdivisions in its periphery.
There is Clark, but too cumbersome for Metro Manila passengers. EDSA traffic makes the trip to the business center too punishing. There is talk of a fast train connection. But even then, Tugade talks of the service up to Tutuban only and not a fast train.
In the meantime, there are a number of unsolicited proposals to build a brand new international airport from scratch. The most advanced of these proposals is from San Miguel… no subsidy, no guarantee from government, all private risk.
It had been approved by the NEDA board in a meeting presided by President Duterte last April 26. It is a simple solution to the NAIA situation, but it is not moving.
That unfortunate accident at NAIA last week has exasperated people enough to ask in social media: what is keeping San Miguel from starting to build their dream airport? NEDA-ICC and DOF.
Apparently, the NEDA Board approved the project for Swiss challenge subject to final negotiations on the concession agreement.
NEDA-ICC and DOF were supposed to consolidate all comments of government agencies and then pass these on to DOTr for use as guidelines when it sits down with San Miguel for the final terms before Swiss challenge. DOTr had been waiting for NEDA-ICC and DOF to send those comments, but have received nothing over the last four months.
Under BOT rules, negotiation on the concession agreement must be concluded in 80 days after a notice of negotiation is issued by DOTr. We are not even there yet. Maybe middle of next year is being optimistic for construction to start.
Grapevine tells me DOF is sitting on it, worried that the project is too big to fail. Even if no explicit or implied government guarantees are involved, DOF is concerned about the health of the banks lending to San Miguel if the project fails. But banks are big boys and San Miguel’s lenders are international banks.
The NAIA modernization proposal of the Taipan consortium should also move fast because like the San Miguel airport, it also has original proponent status and urgently needed. But our bureaucracy has no sense of urgency. They love studying proposals to death.
Sayang. The San Miguel airport proposal is urgently needed and is totally private risk. San Miguel is ready to operate the Bulacan airport without asking government to shut down NAIA.
SMC’s proposed airport will be built on a 2,500-hectare property with up to six runways. It will be able to handle more than 100 million passengers a year.
As a bonus, the airport project will help address Bulacan’s perennial flooding problem by building a spillway to discharge excess water from denuded watersheds directly to Manila Bay.
Our problems are simple and so are the solutions. Our bureaucrats just insist on complicating things.
Enough of that now. We have no time to waste, not with a fast growing population that is sinking deeper into poverty unless we grow a lot faster.
Jelly fish
The fact that jellyfish has survived 650 million years without brains gives hope to many people.
(Not sure how true. And I am not necessarily thinking of our bureaucrats.)
Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco
https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/08/24/1845198/we-complicate-things
“Inflation is going to eat into consumption unless we build infrastructure to bring in tourists.
“Build Build Build is being oversold. I guess that is the common thread of all administrations. Over promise and under deliver. Without doubt they should be managing expectations. But they should not have created them to start with... but more importantly… they need to focus on only two things:
“Infra for Manila traffic… elevated connector roads. Help Ramón Ang and MVP get the right of way. NLEX-SLEX connector, C6… etc;
“Infra for tourism. The southern airports; Clark and a new Manila airport. That is all the time they have.
“And how to finance it? First priority privatize… second, sell all the assets they have… SMC. Cocobank. All of NPC. etc.. They pride themselves in dividends… CAAP and PPA paying dividends… Mama mia. That is terrible. They should be building ports… Davao, Cebu, Manila all congested…
“Just look what happened when something was done…
“There were tons of traffic to MOA and the airport… San Miguel builds one measly NAIA expressway and the traffic disappeared… We do not have too many cars. We have too few roads… Two connector roads and C6 and you will see the change.”
I share his view. The bane of our existence as a nation is our propensity to complicate the simple. It is probably due to the number of surplus lawyers, specially in government, trying to make themselves appear useful.
It is also because of corruption endemic in our system. Officials and bureaucrats make things complicated because it is not easy to make illicit money when things or processes are simplified.
That was why I thought Duterte was different. He has this record of simplifying things in Davao City Hall. I was hoping he can do the same thing at the national level.
But the last two years showed the system is too entrenched for reform. Not even the much claimed political will of Duterte made a difference. Maybe he was too focused on drugs he didn’t try hard enough on other things.
Anyway, we need public officials who can reduce problems to simple terms. The previous and the current administrations failed to produce persons like that to head DOTr and DPWH.
The problems at NAIA are not new. It has a single international runway and has long exceeded the number of passengers it is rated to handle. Flights in and out are delayed costing airlines and passengers billions of pesos in losses. There is no room for a second parallel runway unless government has the political will to expropriate subdivisions in its periphery.
There is Clark, but too cumbersome for Metro Manila passengers. EDSA traffic makes the trip to the business center too punishing. There is talk of a fast train connection. But even then, Tugade talks of the service up to Tutuban only and not a fast train.
In the meantime, there are a number of unsolicited proposals to build a brand new international airport from scratch. The most advanced of these proposals is from San Miguel… no subsidy, no guarantee from government, all private risk.
It had been approved by the NEDA board in a meeting presided by President Duterte last April 26. It is a simple solution to the NAIA situation, but it is not moving.
That unfortunate accident at NAIA last week has exasperated people enough to ask in social media: what is keeping San Miguel from starting to build their dream airport? NEDA-ICC and DOF.
Apparently, the NEDA Board approved the project for Swiss challenge subject to final negotiations on the concession agreement.
NEDA-ICC and DOF were supposed to consolidate all comments of government agencies and then pass these on to DOTr for use as guidelines when it sits down with San Miguel for the final terms before Swiss challenge. DOTr had been waiting for NEDA-ICC and DOF to send those comments, but have received nothing over the last four months.
Under BOT rules, negotiation on the concession agreement must be concluded in 80 days after a notice of negotiation is issued by DOTr. We are not even there yet. Maybe middle of next year is being optimistic for construction to start.
Grapevine tells me DOF is sitting on it, worried that the project is too big to fail. Even if no explicit or implied government guarantees are involved, DOF is concerned about the health of the banks lending to San Miguel if the project fails. But banks are big boys and San Miguel’s lenders are international banks.
The NAIA modernization proposal of the Taipan consortium should also move fast because like the San Miguel airport, it also has original proponent status and urgently needed. But our bureaucracy has no sense of urgency. They love studying proposals to death.
Sayang. The San Miguel airport proposal is urgently needed and is totally private risk. San Miguel is ready to operate the Bulacan airport without asking government to shut down NAIA.
SMC’s proposed airport will be built on a 2,500-hectare property with up to six runways. It will be able to handle more than 100 million passengers a year.
As a bonus, the airport project will help address Bulacan’s perennial flooding problem by building a spillway to discharge excess water from denuded watersheds directly to Manila Bay.
Our problems are simple and so are the solutions. Our bureaucrats just insist on complicating things.
Enough of that now. We have no time to waste, not with a fast growing population that is sinking deeper into poverty unless we grow a lot faster.
Jelly fish
The fact that jellyfish has survived 650 million years without brains gives hope to many people.
(Not sure how true. And I am not necessarily thinking of our bureaucrats.)
Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco
https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/08/24/1845198/we-complicate-things
PHL, China accelerating implementation of infra projects
BEIJING—Manila and Beijing have affirmed their commitment to speed up the preparation and processes needed to ensure the timely implementation of the Duterte administration’s flagship infrastructure projects with financial support from China.
In a meeting here with the People’s Republic of China’s State Councilor and Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi Wednesday night (Aug. 22), Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the preparation for the projects to be implemented by the Philippines in cooperation with China “have already been moving quite fast ahead,” particularly the South Long Haul Manila-Bicol Railway and the Clark-Subic Railway projects.
“Under the guidance of President Duterte, we have been working very hard to achieve both the goals of President Duterte and President Xi Jinping in the development of the relationship between China and the Philippines,” Dominguez said during the meeting.
Minister Wang, for his part, said that “what is needed now (are) specific and concrete actions to move forward (our) practical cooperation across the board.”
“What I hope you and our other friends sitting here today will do is to have more communication with your counterparts so that jointly, we can fully tap the potential of our cooperation,” Minister Wang said.
Also at the meeting were the other members of the Philippine delegation, including Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade; Vivencio Dizon, president-CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA); and other senior government officials.
Minister Wang said bilateral relations between the Philippines and China have vastly improved and “entered a fast track of development under the guidance of President Duterte and President Xi.”
“There are many works of cooperation to be advanced. I hope and I believe, through your current visit, we will reach even more consensus and cooperation between our two countries to deliver even greater benefits to the Chinese and Filipino people and make our respective contributions to regional peace and stability,” Minister Wang said.
Dominguez, for his part, said that since President Duterte assumed office, “the relationship (between the two countries) has become very close.”
He informed Minister Wang that the Philippines has “received a lot of investments from your country as well as tourists have been coming in (from China).”
Minister Wang informed Dominguez and the rest of the Philippine delegation that he and his counterpart, Secretary Cayetano “and our two foreign ministries will coordinate with other respective departments to do as much as we can to foster a sound condition (and) atmosphere for the economic cooperation between our two countries.”
The warm relations between the two countries since President Duterte assumed office in 2016 has led to rising Chinese investments in the Philippines.
Net foreign direct investment (FDI) from China for the period January-May 2018 registered a 534 percent increase over the net FDI from that country for the whole 2017. Total approved investments from China, meanwhile, grew by 57.14 percent over the previous year.
Bilateral trade with China has also increased since 2017, with total trade between the two countries reaching $13.9 billion in the first half of 2018.
The number of Chinese tourists entering the Philippines hit almost one million in 2017. The Philippines’ target for 2018 is to bring in 1.5 million tourists from China.
In a meeting here with the People’s Republic of China’s State Councilor and Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi Wednesday night (Aug. 22), Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the preparation for the projects to be implemented by the Philippines in cooperation with China “have already been moving quite fast ahead,” particularly the South Long Haul Manila-Bicol Railway and the Clark-Subic Railway projects.
“Under the guidance of President Duterte, we have been working very hard to achieve both the goals of President Duterte and President Xi Jinping in the development of the relationship between China and the Philippines,” Dominguez said during the meeting.
Minister Wang, for his part, said that “what is needed now (are) specific and concrete actions to move forward (our) practical cooperation across the board.”
“What I hope you and our other friends sitting here today will do is to have more communication with your counterparts so that jointly, we can fully tap the potential of our cooperation,” Minister Wang said.
Also at the meeting were the other members of the Philippine delegation, including Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade; Vivencio Dizon, president-CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA); and other senior government officials.
Minister Wang said bilateral relations between the Philippines and China have vastly improved and “entered a fast track of development under the guidance of President Duterte and President Xi.”
“There are many works of cooperation to be advanced. I hope and I believe, through your current visit, we will reach even more consensus and cooperation between our two countries to deliver even greater benefits to the Chinese and Filipino people and make our respective contributions to regional peace and stability,” Minister Wang said.
Dominguez, for his part, said that since President Duterte assumed office, “the relationship (between the two countries) has become very close.”
He informed Minister Wang that the Philippines has “received a lot of investments from your country as well as tourists have been coming in (from China).”
Minister Wang informed Dominguez and the rest of the Philippine delegation that he and his counterpart, Secretary Cayetano “and our two foreign ministries will coordinate with other respective departments to do as much as we can to foster a sound condition (and) atmosphere for the economic cooperation between our two countries.”
The warm relations between the two countries since President Duterte assumed office in 2016 has led to rising Chinese investments in the Philippines.
Net foreign direct investment (FDI) from China for the period January-May 2018 registered a 534 percent increase over the net FDI from that country for the whole 2017. Total approved investments from China, meanwhile, grew by 57.14 percent over the previous year.
Bilateral trade with China has also increased since 2017, with total trade between the two countries reaching $13.9 billion in the first half of 2018.
The number of Chinese tourists entering the Philippines hit almost one million in 2017. The Philippines’ target for 2018 is to bring in 1.5 million tourists from China.
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Naia-BGC link to start in 2019
Gov’t agency reviewing details of proposed expressway extension
An elevated toll road linking Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig and Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport might soon be underway.
Alex Bote, who heads the Public Private Partnership (PPP) service of the Department of Public Works and Highways, said in an interview that San Miguel Corp.’s offer to extend its Naia Expressway project all the way to BGC was currently being studied.
“It’s already been submitted,” Bote said, while explaining that the project was an extension of the Naia Expressway and not an unsolicited proposal.
He did not give added details, but noted that they expected the project to start “definitely by next year.”
SMC revealed its plans to extend the 7.7-kilometer Naia Expressway last year. This is seen to ease traffic on the Sales Bridge and cut travel time from the Coastal Road, the Naia passenger terminals and SM Mall of Asia to BGC.
This will reduce road congestion around the areas of Magallanes and Edsa-Pasay. SMC noted that it would also build new ramps from the Naia Terminal 1 and 2 areas all the way to SM City Sucat, where it connects to the C5 extension project.
The Naia Expressway is among the successful PPP projects bid out under the Aquino administration. SMC won the project in 2013 after it outbid sole rival Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
However, delays in the delivery of right-of-way, a perennial issue for infrastructure projects, apart from power and water utilities that needed to be relocated along its alignment, postponed its completion. The Naia Expressway finally opened in September 2016.
Toll roads are a key part of SMC’s ambitious diversification strategy, which was launched more than a decade ago.
It is also a main driver of the company’s infrastructure assets under San Miguel Holdings Corp. SMC’s infrastructure business posted P12.14 billion in revenues in the first semester of the year, still a fraction of the group’s almost P500 billion in sales.
Infrastructure revenues were up 11 percent year-on-year “on the back of continuous growth in traffic volume at all operating toll roads.” Its operating income was up 19 percent to P6.22 billion during the first half of 2018.
Contributions are expected to rise as SMC implements a massive pipeline of road projects, valued at around P554 billion when it was announced last year.
Included in the pipeline were the San Pedro-C6 Laguna Lake Road, Tanauan-Tagaytay Expressway or Sky 8, the extension of SLEx to Matnog, Sorsogon, Sky 7 linking Taguig to Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, the Buendia Interchange and ramp extension to Macapagal Boulevard, and the Sky 9 “Pasig River alignment.”
SMC’s existing portfolio includes the South Luzon Expressway, Metro Manila Skyway, Tarlac Pangasinan La Union Expressway, Star toll road and Naia Expressway.
https://business.inquirer.net/256035/naia-bgc-link-start-2019
An elevated toll road linking Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig and Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport might soon be underway.
Alex Bote, who heads the Public Private Partnership (PPP) service of the Department of Public Works and Highways, said in an interview that San Miguel Corp.’s offer to extend its Naia Expressway project all the way to BGC was currently being studied.
“It’s already been submitted,” Bote said, while explaining that the project was an extension of the Naia Expressway and not an unsolicited proposal.
He did not give added details, but noted that they expected the project to start “definitely by next year.”
SMC revealed its plans to extend the 7.7-kilometer Naia Expressway last year. This is seen to ease traffic on the Sales Bridge and cut travel time from the Coastal Road, the Naia passenger terminals and SM Mall of Asia to BGC.
This will reduce road congestion around the areas of Magallanes and Edsa-Pasay. SMC noted that it would also build new ramps from the Naia Terminal 1 and 2 areas all the way to SM City Sucat, where it connects to the C5 extension project.
The Naia Expressway is among the successful PPP projects bid out under the Aquino administration. SMC won the project in 2013 after it outbid sole rival Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
However, delays in the delivery of right-of-way, a perennial issue for infrastructure projects, apart from power and water utilities that needed to be relocated along its alignment, postponed its completion. The Naia Expressway finally opened in September 2016.
Toll roads are a key part of SMC’s ambitious diversification strategy, which was launched more than a decade ago.
It is also a main driver of the company’s infrastructure assets under San Miguel Holdings Corp. SMC’s infrastructure business posted P12.14 billion in revenues in the first semester of the year, still a fraction of the group’s almost P500 billion in sales.
Infrastructure revenues were up 11 percent year-on-year “on the back of continuous growth in traffic volume at all operating toll roads.” Its operating income was up 19 percent to P6.22 billion during the first half of 2018.
Contributions are expected to rise as SMC implements a massive pipeline of road projects, valued at around P554 billion when it was announced last year.
Included in the pipeline were the San Pedro-C6 Laguna Lake Road, Tanauan-Tagaytay Expressway or Sky 8, the extension of SLEx to Matnog, Sorsogon, Sky 7 linking Taguig to Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, the Buendia Interchange and ramp extension to Macapagal Boulevard, and the Sky 9 “Pasig River alignment.”
SMC’s existing portfolio includes the South Luzon Expressway, Metro Manila Skyway, Tarlac Pangasinan La Union Expressway, Star toll road and Naia Expressway.
https://business.inquirer.net/256035/naia-bgc-link-start-2019
Parañaque Integrated bus terminal launch set late August
MANILA — The Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) is set to be launched by the end of this month as its construction is nearly completed, an official of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Wednesday.
“We will have a soft launch by the last week of August,” DOTr Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark de Leon said in a text message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
The terminal facility is expected to reduce the number of buses from provinces in the south of Metro Manila and ease traffic flow along the areas of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Baclaran and Taft Avenue.
The construction of the PITX is now 96 percent complete with its online ticketing and booking system and radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging system of buses still to be concluded, according to the DOTr.
“PITX aims to provide seamless interconnectivity of the different modes of transportation from the neighboring provinces south of Metro Manila to ensure a safe, convenient, and hassle-free travel experience for the commuting public,” it said through its Facebook page.
The PITX, which will be the first intermodal transport in the country, is projected to accommodate up to 200,000 train, jeepney and bus passengers per day.
The terminal will connect passengers coming from the Cavite side to other transport systems such as the future LRT Line 1 South Extension, city bus, taxi, and other public utility vehicles that are serving inner Metro Manila.
It will feature passenger terminal buildings, loading and unloading bays, staging bays, ticketing and baggage handling facilities, as well as park-ride facilities. Commuters can also make use of the free Wi-Fi, charging outlets and an online ticketing system.
The DOTr is pushing for the implementation of the intermodal transport system to ease traffic congestion in the metropolis.
Under the system, provincial buses will no longer be allowed to traverse along major roads in Metro Manila. Terminals will be installed outside the metropolis as these buses and passengers will be linked to other modes of public transportation. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)
“We will have a soft launch by the last week of August,” DOTr Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark de Leon said in a text message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
The terminal facility is expected to reduce the number of buses from provinces in the south of Metro Manila and ease traffic flow along the areas of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Baclaran and Taft Avenue.
The construction of the PITX is now 96 percent complete with its online ticketing and booking system and radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging system of buses still to be concluded, according to the DOTr.
“PITX aims to provide seamless interconnectivity of the different modes of transportation from the neighboring provinces south of Metro Manila to ensure a safe, convenient, and hassle-free travel experience for the commuting public,” it said through its Facebook page.
The PITX, which will be the first intermodal transport in the country, is projected to accommodate up to 200,000 train, jeepney and bus passengers per day.
The terminal will connect passengers coming from the Cavite side to other transport systems such as the future LRT Line 1 South Extension, city bus, taxi, and other public utility vehicles that are serving inner Metro Manila.
It will feature passenger terminal buildings, loading and unloading bays, staging bays, ticketing and baggage handling facilities, as well as park-ride facilities. Commuters can also make use of the free Wi-Fi, charging outlets and an online ticketing system.
The DOTr is pushing for the implementation of the intermodal transport system to ease traffic congestion in the metropolis.
Under the system, provincial buses will no longer be allowed to traverse along major roads in Metro Manila. Terminals will be installed outside the metropolis as these buses and passengers will be linked to other modes of public transportation. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Ayala-SM Group’s proposed C3 Expressway encounters hitches
The Department of Public Works and Highways has cited a possible alignment problem with the unsolicited proposal submitted by AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and SM Investments Corp. to build the P23.7 billion C3 elevated expressway.
Alex Bote, director of the DPWH Public-Private Partnership Service, said there was some conflict in the alignment of the planned C3 expressway that will connect cities of Manila, Makati and Pasay, with the C3 Missing Link Project.
“We’re not sure if they’re revising the proposal. We will declare completeness of the review once they have threshed out the problem, “ Bote said.
The elevated toll road will run from Sta. Mesa, Manila up to the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.
AC Infrastructure and SMIC offered to construct and operate the proposed 8.6 kilometer C3 for a period of 35 years.
The C3 Missing Link project, on the other hand, involves the construction of a 5.22 km six-lane road that will connect the end of existing C3 Road in N.Domingo St. in San Juan to Buendia Ave. in Makati City.
According to the Ayala-SM Group, C3 will provide an alternative to Edsa, which is now congested and improve access to the Manila Bay development areas, the Makati central business district and the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan and Manila.
http://bilyonaryo.com.ph/2018/08/22/ayala-sm-groups-proposed-c3-expressway-encounters-hitches/
Alex Bote, director of the DPWH Public-Private Partnership Service, said there was some conflict in the alignment of the planned C3 expressway that will connect cities of Manila, Makati and Pasay, with the C3 Missing Link Project.
“We’re not sure if they’re revising the proposal. We will declare completeness of the review once they have threshed out the problem, “ Bote said.
The elevated toll road will run from Sta. Mesa, Manila up to the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.
AC Infrastructure and SMIC offered to construct and operate the proposed 8.6 kilometer C3 for a period of 35 years.
The C3 Missing Link project, on the other hand, involves the construction of a 5.22 km six-lane road that will connect the end of existing C3 Road in N.Domingo St. in San Juan to Buendia Ave. in Makati City.
According to the Ayala-SM Group, C3 will provide an alternative to Edsa, which is now congested and improve access to the Manila Bay development areas, the Makati central business district and the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan and Manila.
http://bilyonaryo.com.ph/2018/08/22/ayala-sm-groups-proposed-c3-expressway-encounters-hitches/
C3 Expressway in conflict with another project—DPWH official
The unsolicited proposal by AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and SM Investments Corp. to build the P23.7-billion Circumferential Road 3 Elevated Expressway has an alignment conflict with another expressway project, according to the Public Works Department.
Alex Bote, director of DPWH Public-Private Partnership Service, said the planned 8.6-kilometer C3 Expressway that would pass the Ayala central business district and connect cities of Manila, Makati, and Pasay, would have a conflict in terms of alignment with the C3 Missing Link Project.
The C3 Missing Link is among the 75 high-impact infrastructure flagship projects approved by the National Economic and Development Authority.
“We’re not sure if they’re revising the proposal. It has a minor conflict with C3 Missing link. This is unsolicited, everything will come from the proponent. We will declare completeness [review] once it is clean,” Bote said.
AC Infrastructure, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Corp. and SM Investments Corp., submitted their proposal to the Public Works Department to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain for a period of 35 years the proposed C3 Elevated Expressway.
The elevated toll road will run about 8.6 kilometers from Sta. Mesa, Manila to the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.
The proponents said C3 Expressway would provide an alternative to Edsa, which was now congested, and improve access to the Manila Bay development areas, the Makati central business district and the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan and Manila.
The project would have five interchanges located in Sta. Mesa, the Circuit Makati, Ayala-Gil Puyat, Roxas Boulevard and SM Mall of Asia complex.
Meanwhile, Bote said the Japan International Cooperation Agency was set to complete the feasibility study for the C3 Missing Link Project this year.
The P10.3-billion C3 Missing Link project involves the construction of a 5.22-km six-lane road that will connect the end of existing C3 Road at N. Domingo St. in San Juan City to Buendia Ave., Makati City.
The project includes the construction of a 1.19-km four-lane elevated double-deck road, a 0.63-km six-lane road, a 2.98-km six-lane elevated single deck road, a 0.42-km six-lane road, service roads, intersections, culverts and related infrastructure and the installation of signaling systems.
http://www.thestandard.com.ph/business/transport-tourism/273659/c3-expressway-in-conflict-with-another-project-dpwh-official.html
Alex Bote, director of DPWH Public-Private Partnership Service, said the planned 8.6-kilometer C3 Expressway that would pass the Ayala central business district and connect cities of Manila, Makati, and Pasay, would have a conflict in terms of alignment with the C3 Missing Link Project.
The C3 Missing Link is among the 75 high-impact infrastructure flagship projects approved by the National Economic and Development Authority.
“We’re not sure if they’re revising the proposal. It has a minor conflict with C3 Missing link. This is unsolicited, everything will come from the proponent. We will declare completeness [review] once it is clean,” Bote said.
AC Infrastructure, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Corp. and SM Investments Corp., submitted their proposal to the Public Works Department to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain for a period of 35 years the proposed C3 Elevated Expressway.
The elevated toll road will run about 8.6 kilometers from Sta. Mesa, Manila to the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.
The proponents said C3 Expressway would provide an alternative to Edsa, which was now congested, and improve access to the Manila Bay development areas, the Makati central business district and the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan and Manila.
The project would have five interchanges located in Sta. Mesa, the Circuit Makati, Ayala-Gil Puyat, Roxas Boulevard and SM Mall of Asia complex.
Meanwhile, Bote said the Japan International Cooperation Agency was set to complete the feasibility study for the C3 Missing Link Project this year.
The P10.3-billion C3 Missing Link project involves the construction of a 5.22-km six-lane road that will connect the end of existing C3 Road at N. Domingo St. in San Juan City to Buendia Ave., Makati City.
The project includes the construction of a 1.19-km four-lane elevated double-deck road, a 0.63-km six-lane road, a 2.98-km six-lane elevated single deck road, a 0.42-km six-lane road, service roads, intersections, culverts and related infrastructure and the installation of signaling systems.
http://www.thestandard.com.ph/business/transport-tourism/273659/c3-expressway-in-conflict-with-another-project-dpwh-official.html
MRT 7 project showcases DOTr’s incompetence, once again!
LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God…” (John 1:12-13, the Holy Bible)
MRT 7 PROJECT SHOWCASES DOTr’S INCOMPETENCE, ONCE AGAIN: It cannot be denied, many of those who serve in government, particularly in agencies that have, unfortunately, something to do with public works projects worth trillions or billions of pesos, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) now under the controversial Secretary Arthur Tugade included, have serious mental issues affecting their capability to uphold the interest and welfare of the country and its people.
Let us take the MRT 7 project as an example. Now, it is facing serious problems because there is a great obstacle towards its completion, simply because the purchase by the government of the parcel of land which would be used as a depot has not been finalized yet. Imagine, the DOTr is now spending billons for this MRT 7 project despite the fact that it has not perfected yet the purchase of the land to be used as a depot!
The DOTr is trying to pass the blame to a judge in Malolos City, allegedly because he allowed the owner of the land to be paid by the government an additional P510 million for his property. In the face of all these, it is the DOTr which should be blamed and castigated, for yet another display of incompetence and inefficiency. How on earth did it decide to start the MRT 7 project, spending billions in government funds already, even if a prime portion of it, the land for the depot, had not been acquired yet?
JESUS IS THE “MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER” ACCORDING TO ISAIAH 7:14, 9:6: It is indeed gratifying to see that many Bible scholars around the world accept the position that a prophecy made in Isaiah 9:6 of the Bible, made some 700 years before Jesus was born, got fulfilled when Jesus was born to Mary, the virgin mother, in a humble manger in Bethlehem.
What this means is that, all the experts and authorities on the Bible are one in the belief that the baby boy referred to in Isaias 9:6, Jesus, is the “Might God, Everlasting Father” Himself. This means that Jesus is God and Savior, and is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Happily, this is the same belief espoused by the Children of God Blood Kin of the Christ Church (or AND KNK, Simbahang Anak ng Diyos Kadugo Ni Kristo).
Isaiah 9:6 is definitely a mere continuation of Isaiah 7:14, where it was prophesied that the event involving the virgin and
her baby boy would be signs from God the Father Himself. Isaiah 9:6 explains what, or who, is the baby boy that Isaiah 7:14 mentioned—- the boy that was conceived, and given birth to, as a man with flesh and blood, by a virgin woman, who is a human being, too. Isaiah 9:6 says that this baby boy is the “Mighty God, Everlasting Father”, no more no less.
BP 22 ON BOUNCING CHECKS: This is a question from someone who sought legal assistance from “Bitag ni Ben Tulfo”: “Does a person who issued a check that bounced, because that person lost his work and his ability to pay, still have any liability? In our case, the payee of the check and I entered into a new agreement that would allow me to pay the amount of the checks that bounced monthly, at a great lower sum. Does this agreement have any effect on the checks that bounced?”
Here was the answer of the LAWYERS IN THE LIGHT (o Lawyers Instructed on Godliness, Humility, and Truth): First, whenever a check bounces or is dishonored for lack of funds, criminal liability attaches to the issuer immediately. As long as the check bounced, the drawer or issuer becomes liable for Batas Pambansa 22, for bouncing checks.
However, since the drawer and the payee of the check that bounced entered into a new agreement allowing the drawer to instead pay the check in some way or another (either cash or installment), the drawer’s criminal liability is deemed to have been extinguished, because of what is known as a “novation of contract”. The new agreement whereby the drawer will instead pay for the value of the bounced checks gives rise to a new agreement.
FOR QUESTIONS, REACTIONS: If anyone would like to ask me any question about what the burning issues of the day mean, or what we have discussed here, or to consult on any problem, whatever it may be, please call 0917 984 24 68, or email me at batasmauricio@yahoo.com, or post your concerns at www.facebook.com/attybatas. Promise, I will answer right away. Thank God in the Name of Jesus, Amen! (By Atty. Batas Mauricio) -30-
MRT 7 PROJECT SHOWCASES DOTr’S INCOMPETENCE, ONCE AGAIN: It cannot be denied, many of those who serve in government, particularly in agencies that have, unfortunately, something to do with public works projects worth trillions or billions of pesos, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) now under the controversial Secretary Arthur Tugade included, have serious mental issues affecting their capability to uphold the interest and welfare of the country and its people.
Let us take the MRT 7 project as an example. Now, it is facing serious problems because there is a great obstacle towards its completion, simply because the purchase by the government of the parcel of land which would be used as a depot has not been finalized yet. Imagine, the DOTr is now spending billons for this MRT 7 project despite the fact that it has not perfected yet the purchase of the land to be used as a depot!
The DOTr is trying to pass the blame to a judge in Malolos City, allegedly because he allowed the owner of the land to be paid by the government an additional P510 million for his property. In the face of all these, it is the DOTr which should be blamed and castigated, for yet another display of incompetence and inefficiency. How on earth did it decide to start the MRT 7 project, spending billions in government funds already, even if a prime portion of it, the land for the depot, had not been acquired yet?
JESUS IS THE “MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER” ACCORDING TO ISAIAH 7:14, 9:6: It is indeed gratifying to see that many Bible scholars around the world accept the position that a prophecy made in Isaiah 9:6 of the Bible, made some 700 years before Jesus was born, got fulfilled when Jesus was born to Mary, the virgin mother, in a humble manger in Bethlehem.
What this means is that, all the experts and authorities on the Bible are one in the belief that the baby boy referred to in Isaias 9:6, Jesus, is the “Might God, Everlasting Father” Himself. This means that Jesus is God and Savior, and is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Happily, this is the same belief espoused by the Children of God Blood Kin of the Christ Church (or AND KNK, Simbahang Anak ng Diyos Kadugo Ni Kristo).
Isaiah 9:6 is definitely a mere continuation of Isaiah 7:14, where it was prophesied that the event involving the virgin and
her baby boy would be signs from God the Father Himself. Isaiah 9:6 explains what, or who, is the baby boy that Isaiah 7:14 mentioned—- the boy that was conceived, and given birth to, as a man with flesh and blood, by a virgin woman, who is a human being, too. Isaiah 9:6 says that this baby boy is the “Mighty God, Everlasting Father”, no more no less.
BP 22 ON BOUNCING CHECKS: This is a question from someone who sought legal assistance from “Bitag ni Ben Tulfo”: “Does a person who issued a check that bounced, because that person lost his work and his ability to pay, still have any liability? In our case, the payee of the check and I entered into a new agreement that would allow me to pay the amount of the checks that bounced monthly, at a great lower sum. Does this agreement have any effect on the checks that bounced?”
Here was the answer of the LAWYERS IN THE LIGHT (o Lawyers Instructed on Godliness, Humility, and Truth): First, whenever a check bounces or is dishonored for lack of funds, criminal liability attaches to the issuer immediately. As long as the check bounced, the drawer or issuer becomes liable for Batas Pambansa 22, for bouncing checks.
However, since the drawer and the payee of the check that bounced entered into a new agreement allowing the drawer to instead pay the check in some way or another (either cash or installment), the drawer’s criminal liability is deemed to have been extinguished, because of what is known as a “novation of contract”. The new agreement whereby the drawer will instead pay for the value of the bounced checks gives rise to a new agreement.
FOR QUESTIONS, REACTIONS: If anyone would like to ask me any question about what the burning issues of the day mean, or what we have discussed here, or to consult on any problem, whatever it may be, please call 0917 984 24 68, or email me at batasmauricio@yahoo.com, or post your concerns at www.facebook.com/attybatas. Promise, I will answer right away. Thank God in the Name of Jesus, Amen! (By Atty. Batas Mauricio) -30-
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)