San Miguel Corp. (SMC) will open the whole 18-kilometer Skyway Stage 3 in December and will be offering motorists free access to the expressway for an entire month, its chief honcho said on Tuesday.
Ramon S. Ang, the company’s president and COO, said his group is confident it will be able to open the expressway to the public by December, despite the rainy season that has hampered finishing works such as laying and curing of asphalt.
“While we’re still doing a few finishing works, we want the public to be able to use Skyway 3 already and benefit from the convenience and ease of travel that it will bring. We have all waited long for this project, so this is the best way we can welcome everyone, by making Skyway 3 free for one month,” he said.
The project was officially deemed completed this month. It took the company 6 years to finish the whole alignment due to issues pertaining to right-of-way and major changes to its design and alignment.
Skyway Stage 3 will connect the South Luzon Expressway (Slex) to the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex), and will serve as an alternative to Edsa. It has 8 access points, namely: Buendia, Plaza Dilao, Nagtahan, Aurora Blvd., Quezon Ave., Sgt. Rivera, Balintawak, and Nlex.
“With Skyway 3, we will improve the daily commutes and lives of so many Filipinos. We will lessen their time spent in traffic on the road, we can increase both their productivity and time spent with their families,” Ang said.
He added that this will help spur economic activity and aid the economic recovery of the country.
“Apart from this, the transportation of goods from north and south Luzon will also be so much easier, faster, and more efficient. This will be a big boost to our economy and support growth throughout the regions,” Ang said.
Image credits: Bernard Testa