MANILA — Listed conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is gearing up for a massive expansion that will increase capacity of its southern Metro Manila toll roads, in its bid to help the government ease traffic congestion in the metropolis.
SMC’s infrastructure arm, San Miguel Holdings Corp., aims to complete expansion plans for the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), Skyway system, NAIA Expressway (NAIAeX) and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (SLEX) within three years.
“All technical studies for the expansion of all our southern Metro Manila toll roads are now complete and ready for construction. We’re just waiting to get final approval for each of these projects from the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB),” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang in a statement.
The SMC is looking to widen SLEX to 10 lanes, expand the elevated Skyway from Alabang to Sucat by two lanes as well as extend it to the Alabang viaduct, extend the new NAIA Expressway all the way to Bonifacio Global City (BGC), and build Skyway downramp to BGC/C5 Road.
“All these projects are ready for implementation. These are all just improvements/extensions of existing expressways, so we are hoping that the TRB can review and act on our submissions at the soonest possible time,” Ang said.
These projects are expected to decongest not just traditional chokepoints along the expressway network –such as the Alabang viaduct, the Sucat and Bicutan interchanges, Magallanes, the C5 entrance and exit to SLEX, and the NAIAx entry to Skyway—but more importantly, traffic on public roads leading to these major entry and exit points.
“We’re committed to finishing these on schedule, and we are confident that these projects will greatly improve the traffic situation in Metro Manila which our countrymen have had to endure for many, many years,” Ang added. (Leslie Gatpolintan/PNA)
