NLEX’s profit increased 22% to P2.9b in H1

Toll road operator NLEX Corp. said net income grew by over a fifth in the first semester on higher vehicle traffic at the North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

The company said net profit from January to June reached P2.9 billion, up 22 percent from P2.3 billion in the same period last year.

NLEX attributed the growth in revenues in the six-month period to higher toll collection at NLEx and SCTEx and more efficient utilization of resources covering toll operations and maintenance costs.

Toll revenues reached P6.7 billion, up 15 percent year-on-year on the steady increase in traffic and toll revenue contribution from both NLEx and SCTEx operations and increase in non-toll revenues.

Non-toll revenues also climbed to P100 million from P83 million with the increase in royalty fees, utility facility fees and other non-toll initiatives.

Subsidiary NLEX Ventures Corp. contributed P14.8 million, mainly from the commercialization of roadway maintenance services.

NLEX spans 95 kilometers, or 527 lane-kms, and services an average of 254,791 vehicles a day.

NLEX Corp. said net income in 2017 rose 14 percent to P4.64 billion from P4.09 billion in 2016 on  robust vehicle traffic growth in the two toll roads.  Toll revenues reached P11.6 billion last year, up 10 percent from 10.5 billion in 2016.

NLEx vehicle traffic reached an average of 237,046 daily entries last year, or 8 percent higher than in 2016, while traffic at SCTEx reached 54,566 daily vehicle entries, up 21 percent.

NLEx contributed 84 percent of toll revenues, while SCTEx cornered 16 percent.

The company said aside from toll revenues, the company generated revenues of P174.4 million arising from advertising, toll services and utility facilities and rental and service income in 2017 from P157.4 million in 2016.

The North Luzon Expressway spans approximately 95 kilometers, or 527-lane kilometers, and serves an average of 237,046 a day. It is the main infrastructure backbone that connects Metro Manila to Central and Northern Luzon.
SCTEx, meanwhile, is a 94-km, 2x2 expressway stretching from Subic-Tipo to La Paz, Tarlac, connecting the special economic zones in Subic and Clark and Olongapo City, to Tarlac City.

The toll road company earlier budgeted P19 billion in capital expenditures this year to build new projects and help resolve Metro Manila’s traffic bottlenecks.

It is spending to build the urban portions of North Luzon Expressway, such as the Harbor Link Segment 10 (including the R10 Section in Dagat-Dagatan, Navotas City) and the NLEx-SLEx Connector Road project.

http://www.manilastandard.net/business/banking-report/273401/nlex-s-profit-increased-22-to-p2-9b-in-h1.html

Electric-coops agree to support NBN project

The Department of Information and Communications Technology and electric cooperatives under the supervision of the National Electrification Administration signed a memorandum for the “last mile” of the government’s National Broadband Plan project to improve the internet access in the country.

The memorandum of agreement aims to ensure that the widespread availability of high-speed and affordable broadband in remote and rural areas of the country would soon be a reality through the electric cooperatives.

DICT, NEA and the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. formalized the tripartite collaboration “to realize the objectives of the NBP, including but not limited to the co-use of fiber optic cables.”

NEA administrator Edgardo Masongsong and Philreca president Presley De Jesus signed the agreement.  DICT regional director Erlito Tancontian witnessed the signing.

http://www.manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/273388/electric-coops-agree-to-support-nbn-project.html

Rehabilitation of the MRT-3 to Begin This Year

(SPOT.ph) Around 250,000 commuters use the MRT on a daily basis. But with all the breakdowns, accidents, and too-ridiculous-to-be-true incidents, it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing. On August 17, the Department of Transportation finally announced that the transit system is scheduled to undergo full rehabilitation. The National Economic and Development Authority has approved the use of official development assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The MRT's repairs will begin in the third quarter of 2018, with scheduled completion in the first quarter of 2021.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will be funding the MRT's rehabilitation with a loan of JPY 38.1 billion (P22 billion), with a repayment period of 28 years. The MRT will be undergoing comprehensive repair works covering the trains, rail tracks, power supply system, CCTV system, station elevators and escalators, and more. According to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the planned rehabilitation will increase the number of available trains from 15 to 18 per hour and improve the train's speed to 60 kilometers per hour.

The MRT's full rehabilitation is expected to take 43 months—31 months of which will be allotted for the repairs and maintenance work, and 12 months for the defect liability period.

https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/the-latest-news-features/74834/mrt-full-rehabilitation-a00258-20180820

P175-B ‘total transformation’ of PNR Manila-Legazpi to start 2019

LEGAZPI CITY -- The construction for the “total transformation” of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) service from Manila to Legazpi is scheduled to start next year, a PNR top official has said.

PNR General Manager Junn Magno, in an interview on Thursday in Manila, said the project is not just a rehabilitation nor modernization but transformation with PHP 175.32-billion budget.

"The transformation program is under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of the Duterte's administration and is expected to finish within span of seven years, nowadays the government is under the process of hiring consultants for the project called ‘South Long haul’," Magno said.

He said many informal settlers will be affected by the project because not one but two PNR tracks would be constructed to allow the two-way route from Manila to Legazpi and vice versa.

The problem of relocating hundreds of informal settlers lies in the hand of the National Housing Authority especially in the Bicol Area.

"All the old railway and travesa will be totally removed and replaced with new one to match with the new PNR coaches. The new PNR coaches will run at the speed of 120 km per hour and the travel time from Legazpi City to Manila will be only six hours." he added.

Under the project, the PNR railway will be secured by fence just like the MRT.

For the intersections and highway crossings, the railway will be elevated like the skyway. (PNA)

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1045256