By Lorenz S. Marasigan
The P650-million integration of the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) should be completed by the first half of the year, Tollways Management Corp. Spokesman Robin Ignacio said.
“We cannot complete it physically by the first quarter. But currently, we are working toward the completion of the integration of both the systems and physical plazas, which should take a couple of months. We can complete this project by the middle of the year,” Ignacio told the BusinessMirror.
The integration of the two expressways would speed up the queues on exit plazas, increasing the amount of transactions per hour to 800 from the current 200.
The toll-linkage project involves the conversion of separate Nlex and Sctex toll-collection systems into a single system that should allow for more efficient toll collection and faster movement of traffic for motorists.
It also involves the installation and removal of temporary plazas and the construction of interchange plazas that will also require the widening of existing entry or exit ramps.
Manila North Tollways Corp. bagged the contract to manage, operate and maintain Sctex late last year.
Under the terms of the contract, the company will be responsible for the management, toll collection, traffic safety and security, toll road and facilities maintenance, including greening and landscaping, public relations and marketing of expressway until 2043.Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is the largest toll-road operator in the Philippines. It also has interests in expressways in Vietnam and Thailand.