MPTC sees 32% increase in traffic volume next year

THE Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) on Thursday said it expects a 32% increase in the average daily traffic volume on its expressways in 2022.

“We expect an additional 32% of vehicles on our roads by next year,” MPTC President and Chief Executive Officer Rodrigo E. Franco said at a virtual forum on Thursday hosted by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines.

MPTC holds the concession rights for Cavite–Laguna Expressway (CALAX), Manila–Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX), Circumferential Road 5 (C-5) Link Expressway, North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), NLEX Connector Road, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), and Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX).

“Currently, we serve more than 700,000 vehicles per day on all our expressways,” Mr. Franco said.

The company aims to build an “urban ring road” to help manage economic losses from city traffic by providing “unimpeded” traffic flow for goods and people.

Mr. Franco also said that for 2022, the company expects to open the CCLEX project to motorists in the first quarter, complete the NLEX Connector Phase 1 in the second quarter, the CALAX Cavite Segment and the NLEX Segment 8.2 Section 1A in the third quarter, and the NLEX Connector Phase 2 and CAVITEX C5 Link projects in the last quarter.

“We hope that the bottleneck in terms of awarding projects will be addressed so we can have new projects and help in the economic recovery,” he also said, referring to the next administration.

MPTC is the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in

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Arjay L. Balinbin