MPCala Holdings Inc., a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., said it expects to obtain the original proponent status for the P22.43-billion Cavite-Batangas Expressway this month.
CTBex is a 49-kilometer expressway that will connect Cavite and Batangas, with a spur road to Tagaytay City and ultimately terminating in Nasugbu, with another spur road to Tuy, Batangas.
“As far as we are concerned, we already completed the required documents that they needed. It’s really up to the DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways] to review and issue the original proponent status. Our expectation is by this month,’ MPCala Holdings president and chief executive Luigi Bautista told reporters.
MPCala Holdings is also the winning bidder for the P35.42-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway.
“After OPS, we have to submit it to Neda [National Economic and Development Authority] for review. If Neda approves it, there will be negotiations. After negotiations, only time they will offer to Swiss Challenge,” he said.
Bautista said he expected the CTBex project to start construction by the first quarter of 2019.
He said that once completed, the project would cut travel time from Sta. Rosa, Laguna to Nasugbu, Batangas from 2.5 hours to just an hour.
Bautista said the CTBex project was targeted to be completed by the first half of 2022.
The project will start at Silang East Interchange of Cavite-Laguna Expressway. The alignment will traverse the towns of Silang, Amadeo, Mendez and Alfonso in Cavite, Tagaytay City and Nasugbu in Batangas.
MPCala is also constructing the P35-billon Calax”•a four-lane, 47-kilometer closed-system toll expressway connecting Cavitex and South Luzon Expressway.
The expressway will start from Cavitex in Kawit, Cavite and end at SLEx-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.
MPCala Holdings earlier tapped Leighton Holdings of Australia to build the Cavite side and local contractor DMCI Consunj Inc. to construct the Laguna side of Calax.