Manila North Tollways Corp. said Monday it will invest P1.5 billion to transform the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, or SCTEx, into a world-class expressway.
“While the rehabilitation and modernization of SCTEx will take three years to complete, motorists will already experience the improvements by Holy Week this year,” Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president and chief executive officer Rodrigo Franco said.
MPTC is the holding company of MNTC, which operates the North Luzon Expressway.
MNTC was awarded the contract to manage, operate and maintain SCTEx late last year by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, the government agency that built the toll road.
Under the contract, MNTC 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 SCTEx until 2043.
Traversing the provinces of Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac, the 94-kilometer SCTEX is linked to the northern tip of NLEx at Sta. Ines, Mabalacat, Pampanga.
“Aside from integrating the two tollways seamlessly, we have lined up a lot of enhancement works for SCTEx,” Franco said.
“These include pavement works, construction of new facilities and the improvement of the toll collection and communications systems,” he added.
In anticipation of the usual surge in traffic volume every Holy Week, MNTC is putting priority on beefing up the safety, comfort, and convenience of motorists on SCTEx.
Closed-circuit television cameras and emergency call boxes are being installed along the expressway to ensure the security of motorists.
The roadside emergency call boxes will enable distressed motorists to directly and quickly connect to the SCTEx traffic control room.
The CCTV cameras, meanwhile, will enable real-time monitoring of the entire stretch of the expressway which, in turn, will allow allow MNTC teams to respond faster to motorists who may need assistance.
Additional lights and reflectorized strips are also being mounted to guide motorists during the night.
NLEX’s modern toll collection system, which makes use of dedicated short-range communication tags, and contactless and magnetic cards, will be made available to SCTEx once the integration of the two expressways is completed.