LRT fare hike should wait for 'right time,' says Sec. Villar

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said Thursday he is not in favor of hiking LRT fares "at this time" as the country grapples with rising inflation.

The operator of the LRT-1 has been asking for a P5 hike in fares to fund the extension of Manila's oldest light rail system to Parañaque and Cavite.

But Villar, who sits on the board of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) that approves fare hikes, said the government needed to weigh the operator's appeal against the "public interest."

"Maybe now is not the best time for these spikes in prices," Villar said in an interview with ANC.

He said the fare hike can be negotiated, moved to a later time, or implemented on a staggered basis to ease its impact on the public.

The Light Rail Manila Corporation, which operates the LRT-1, has said that the P5 fare hike is needed to convince banks to lend to the firm and fund the line's extension.

Metro Pacific Tollways South gets original proponent status for CTBEx

SILANG, Cavite — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) awarded Metro Pacific Tollways South the original proponent status for proposing to build a P22.43-billion tollroad connecting Silang and Tagaytay in Cavite to Nasugbu, Batangas or CTBEx.

The 50.42-kilometer Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway (CBTEx) will connect the West Silang Interchange of the ongoing Cavite-Laguna Expressway to Tagaytay City and Nasugbu.

It will have eight main interchanges including Silang East, Pook, Aguinaldo, Amadeo, Mendez, Alfonso, Magallanes, and Nasugbu; and two spur roads.

The project is estimated to cost P22.43 billion.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said the project will be submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) then to the NEDA Board—chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte—for approval.

Once approved, it will be go through a Swiss Challenge.

All due diligence, including the Swisss Challenge, will be completed within the year, Villar noted.

“We expect to start construction by next year,” Villar told reporters on the sidelines of the awarding ceremony.

MPT South will seek financing from lenders once it gets the final award to proceed with the project, MPT South president and CEO Luigi Bautista said

The CTBEx project is expected to ease traffic congestion along Aguinaldo Highway and the Tagaytay-Nasugbu road.

MPT South chief financial officer Christopher Dizo said the company expects to open at least two sections of the CTBEx by year 2022.

Travel time will be shortened along Governor’s Drive to Nasugbu, where the usual trip of one hour and 42 minutes will be shortened to 44 minutes; and the Sta. Rosa to Tagay route, where the usual travel time of two hours will be shortened to 46 minutes.

Villar said the project will boost tourism in Tagaytay and Nasugbu.

The construction phase will provide 2,500 to 3,000 job opportunities

Metro Pacific Tollways South Management Corp. is the business unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) for projects in southern Luzon.

MPTC is the infrastructure arm of Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. —VDS, GMA News

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/661949/metro-pacific-tollways-south-get-original-proponent-status-for-ctbex/story/?just_in

NAIAx’s BGC extension to start this year —DPWH’s Villar

The plan to extend the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (NAIAx) all the way to Bonifacio Global City in Taguig is expected to start later this year, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said on Thursday.

“We’re planning it now, we’re coordinating with the concessionaire,” Villar told reporters in an interview here.

Asked when the construction of the ramp connecting the elevated tollroad to BGC will actually start, Villar said there is no specific date so far.

“We don’t have an exact date pa pero within the year.”

The Department of Public Works and Highways plans to extend the 7.7-kilometer elevated expressway to BGC and ease traffic congestion along the adjacent Sales Road in Pasay City.

Complimentary to the NAIAx extension is the ongoing road widening of Lawton Ave., also called Fort Bonifacio-Nichols Field Road, is in preparation for building the ramp to the elevated tollroad.

The NAIA Expressway is built and operated by conglomerate San Miguel Corp. under a 30-year concession agreement awarded in 2013.

The elevated tollroad became fully operational in June 2017. —VDS, GMA News