FOREGONE revenues of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. resulting from the delayed implementation of tariff adjustments in toll fees has breached the P7.5-billion level.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. President Rodrigo E. Franco said the amount will continue to increase should the government fail to implement the adjustments spelled out in the concession agreement of the company for the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex).
“We had one meeting for the arbitration case,” Franco said. “As of end-June foregone revenues reached P7.5 billion.”
Broken down, the claims of the company for the failure of the government to increase toll rates for the Nlex is now at P6 billion, while that for the Cavitex is at about P1.5 billion.
Nlex Corp. sought in April last year the intervention of an arbitration court for the settlement of the foregone toll revenues due to the government’s inaction to petitions for adjustments of the expressway operator.
The toll regulator has not acted on the company’s three petitions for the rate increase for the Nlex, one filed in 2013, another in 2015, and one this year. Accumulated, the increase would account to a 21-percent adjustment over the course of seven years.
The concession that the Pangilinan-controlled company holds allows for toll adjustments every two years.
Current toll fees on the thoroughfare (from Mindanao Avenue to Santa Ines) amount to P218 for Class 1 vehicles (cars, jeepneys, pickup trucks and vans); P544 for Class 2 vehicles (two-axle trucks, buses and vans); and P652 for Class 3 vehicles (trucks and trailers with three or more axles).
For the Cavitex, the company is seeking a 25-percent increase in tariff, as its last increase was given in 2009.
Current toll rates on Cavitex are as follows:
- Class 1 vehicles including cars, jeepneys, pickup trucks and vans, P22;
- Class 2 vehicles, including two-axle trucks, buses and vans, P44; and,
- Class 3 vehicles, including trucks and trailers with three or more axles, P66.
The tollways arm of Metro Pacific booked a core net income of P2.1 billion during the first six months of the year, a 27-percent hike from P1.6 billion the year prior, thanks to an 8-percent increase in system-wide average daily vehicle entries to 590,423 and tight cost control.
It is set to spend P130.5 billion in the next five years to build toll roads and highways around the country. Currently, it has the largest network of thoroughfares in the Philippines.
The company also has interests in tollroad companies in Thailand and Vietnam, as is “continuing to look for other investment opportunities in the region”.