MPTC coordinating with DOTr for NLEX Connector toll holiday during EDSA rehab
Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) is now in discussion with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to implement a toll holiday at the eight-kilometer NLEX Connector.
'We are currently coordinating with DOTr,' MPTC president Jose Ma. Lim told GMA News Online.
Lim was asked to confirm if MPTC is waiving toll at its NLEX Connector elevated expressway.
Business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan on Tuesday expressed intent to follow the lead of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) on imposing toll holiday in portions of Skyway Stage 3 while EDSA is undergoing a two-year rehabilitation.
'I think we also have a connector. Maybe we should do the same thing. I have to talk to our tollways to follow San Miguel's lead," Pangilinan said, referring to NLEX Connector.
NLEX Connector is an eight-kilometer all-elevated highway built along the right of way of the Philippine National Railway (PNR), extending the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) from the end of its Harbor Link Segment 10 in C3/5th Avenue, Caloocan City, to Ramon Magsaysay Avenue in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
Pangilinan's pronouncement came after Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said SMC will waive toll fees in select areas of the Skyway Stage 3 where vehicles will be detoured while the EDSA rehabilitation is ongoing, starting July or August.
This will be implemented alongside a 24-hour odd-even number coding scheme limited to EDSA, with the dry run expected to start on June 16, and last for a month.
The EDSA rehabilitation is projected to last until 2027, with the preparatory works set to begin on the evening of June 13, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The government is also looking at deploying an additional 100 buses along the EDSA Busway, and additional car train sets on the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) during the period.
Apart from NLEX and NLEX Connector, MPTC also operates the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (CAVITEX), the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX), and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX). —AOL, GMA Integrated News
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