TOLL COLLECTION at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) – South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Connector Road will start on Aug. 8, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) said on Thursday.
In a statement, MPTC said the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) gave its unit NLEX Corp. the go signal to begin collecting toll at the first section of the connector road that runs from Caloocan City to España Boulevard in Manila.
The TRB approved base toll rates ranging from P86 to P302, depending on the vehicle class.
Class 1 vehicles (cars and sport utility vehicles) will pay an P86 toll when passing through the connector road, while class 2 vehicles (minivans and buses) will pay P215. Class 3 vehicles (large trucks and trailers) will pay a P302 toll.
Since the first section opened to the public on March 26, NLEX Corp. said about 14,000 motorists have been passing through the first section of the connector road every day.
The company previously said it is registering about P500,000 in losses a day from allowing vehicles to pass through the connector road for free.
NLEX Corp. targets to complete the second section of the connector road, from España to Sta. Mesa, by the fourth quarter.
“It aims to provide easier access to the University Belt and ease traffic congestion in the cities of Malabon, Navotas, Caloocan and Valenzuela,” the company said.
In June, the TRB also approved toll rate adjustments for the NLEX. Starting June 15, motorists traveling within the NLEX open system have paid an additional P7 for class 1 vehicles, P17 for class 2 vehicles and P19 for class 3 vehicles.
Last month, the regulator greenlit the toll increase at the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, which is also operated by NLEX Corp.
The operator was allowed to enforce the first tranche of the approved provisional toll rate adjustments starting July 1 to ease the impact on the public. The toll for class 1 vehicles will be P4.62 per kilometer, P9.32 per kilometer for class 2 vehicles, and P13.85 per kilometer for class 3 vehicles.
MPTC is the tollway unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of the 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 BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — J.I.D.Tabile
