The operator of South Luzon Expressway said Wednesday net income climbed 22 precent in the first six months of the year to P1.7 billion from P1.39 billion year-on-year on the back of higher vehicle traffic.
South Luzon Tollways Corp., a unit of San Miguel Corp., said revenues rose 13 percent to P1.41 billion from P1.24 billion last year on higher traffic volume.
Majority of the vehicles travelling SLEx come from the Class 1 category, which account for about 80 percent of the total traffic volume.
SLTC also said it was investing in toll equipment, spending an additional P5.8 million for the toll collection system upgrade. It also spent P39.1 million on expansion of other major works aimed at improving traffic flow and generating more income, as well as pre-construction activities for TR4 worth P16.2 million.
South Luzon’s parent San Miguel earlier earmarked P13.1 billion to extend the SLEx from Sto. Tomas Batangas to Lucena in Quezon province, or SLEX-Toll Road 4.
The project is divided into five sections. Section 1 covers Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Macban, Laguna (10.58 kms); Macban, Laguna to San Pablo, Laguna (12.2 kms); San Pablo, Laguna to Tiaong, Quezon (8.1 kms); Tiaong to Candelaria, Quezon (14.4 kms); and Candelaria to Lucena City, Quezon (12.31 kms).
South Luzon said it planned to complete the first section from Santo Tomas to Macban by mid-2017 and the entire project by 2019.
The four-lane, expressway project is seen to make travel to and from Southern Tagalog provinces such as Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and the Bicol region faster and safer.
The project is expected to cut travel time between Sto. Tomas and Lucena to just one hour from the usual four hours.
The SLEx-Toll Road 4 is the latest project in San Miguel’s infrastructure portfolio, which already includes the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, the at-grade and elevated Skyway system and Skyway Stage 3, the Naia Expressway, the existing SLEx and the recently upgraded and expanded Southern Tagalog Arterial Road, or STAR Tollway.