The tollway unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said it will review its 2020 revenue target with the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon and its extension until May 15 to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
“We always review our targets. The ECQ is one major event that will require adjustments. Revenue drop will depend on length of ECQ,” said Rodrigo Franco, president and chief executive of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.
President Rodrigo Durterte extended the ECQ in Metro Manila until May 15, the third extension of the quarantine since it was imposed on March 15 to contain the spread of the virus.
Franco said the company was still operating the expressways while complying with the social distancing and other regulations required under the ECQ order.
MPTC reported a core net income of P5.3 billion in 2019, up 18 percent from P4.5 billon in 2018. Net toll revenues amounted to P18.50 billion last year, up from P15.48 billion in 2018.
MPTC’s system-wide vehicle entries, including both domestic and regional road networks, averaged 947,708 a day in 2019, an improvement from 913,101 in 2018.
Average daily vehicle entries on North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and Manila Cavite Expressway increased 13 percent to 535,503 in 2019 from 474,529 in 2018.
MPTC opened three road developments in 2019, including the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 in February; the first section of Cavitex C5 South Link, the 2.2-kilometer flyover crossing South Luzon Expressway traversing Taguig and Pasay City in July and the first 10.7 km of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway in October.
The first sub-section of CALAX, which received authority to start full commercial operations on Feb. 11, 2020, provides travelers with an alternative route between Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road and Mamplasan Road, helping decongest Aguinaldo Hi-way and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road.
C3-R10 Section of NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10, the elevated expressway that provides direct access between R10 in Navotas City and NLEX, had a partial opening in February 2020.
MPTC is on track to fully operationalize the entire C3-R10 Section by March 2020. With full completion of the project, travel time from Port Area to NLEX will be reduced to 10 minutes, significantly benefitting the transport logistics industry as cargo trucks are spared from the truck ban and congestion on local roads.