NLEX Corp., a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), plans to raise P15 billion for capital expenditures (capex) in 2024, aiming to support existing projects and expansion plans, its president said.
“Next year, it is about P15 billion [to fund] existing and our planned expansion,” NLEX Corp. President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista told reporters on the sidelines of the TranspoCon 2023 last week.
To recall, the company had allocated P10 billion for major road and enhancement projects this year.
The company aims to complete the third Candaba viaduct project, which currently has a 30% progress rate, according to Mr. Bautista.
The P7.89-billion Candaba third viaduct project in Pampanga is initially expected to be operational by November this year.
The project is being implemented in partnership with Hong Kong-based Leighton Asia and is covered by the NLEX concession deal.
The Candaba third viaduct project will feature a new road that will be constructed between the two existing viaducts, thereby increasing the capacity of the Candaba viaduct to three lanes with inner and outer shoulders in each direction.
NLEX will also continue its road widening project in San Fernando, Pampanga, Mr. Bautista said, citing that the pain point on NLEX is the traffic congestion from San Fernando to the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).
The road widening project, Mr. Bautista said, is valued at P5.5 billion. The construction will begin in the first quarter of 2024 and will take two years to complete.
“We call it NLEX Segment 3 widening. It is going to be from San Fernando all the way to SCTEx. We are going to add one line in each direction,” he said.
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 BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.
