NLEX Corp. said Friday it invested P6.9 billion for the upgrade, repair and maintenance of North Luzon Expressway and Subic Clark-Tarlac Expressway.
The tollway company said it spent P3.4 billion for annual capital expenditures and P3.5 billion for yearly pavement maintenance program and other routine repairs since 2015.
It said the figures were apart from the big infrastructure projects such as the NLEX Harbor Link, SFEX Capacity Expansion and the ongoing NLEX Connector.
“Over the past seven years, we have completed many enhancement projects that strengthened our commitment to deliver quality service to our motorists,” said NLEX Corp. president and general manager J. Luigi Bautista.
“Despite the challenges and even at the height of the pandemic, we continuously implement our projects and focus on getting better,” Bautista said.
The improvements cover the roads, bridges, traffic devices, roadway lights, signs, pavement, toll collection system, drainage, fence and landscaping. The yearly maintenance program includes pothole repair services, asphalt overlay, crack sealing works and pavement marking enhancements.
Among the notable projects is the integration of NLEX and SCTEX, which involved the conversion of NLEX and SCTEX toll collection systems into a single system, resulting in reduced toll collection stops and travel time savings of up to 40 minutes from Balintawak to Subic/Tarlac and back.
The NLEX-SCTEX integration also paved the way for the modernization of SCTEX’s features including the installation of CCTV cameras and the upgrade of traffic control center.
NLEX Corp. holds the concession for the management, operation and maintenance of the SCTEX as private sector partner of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.
Additional toll lanes in Marilao, Bocaue, Tipo, Balintawak, Meycauayan and Mindanao were constructed to speed up transactions and minimize queuing at the toll plazas during peak hours.
NLEX also opened a new entry in Balagtas and new exits in Meycauayan and Valenzuela which have since served as alternate routes and made industrial hubs and residential areas more accessible.