The Department of Public Works and Highways said it expects to complete the Cavite Laguna Expressway Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange by May after it secured an order from a local court in Tagaytay City to implement the writ of possession on the remaining 15,650 square meters of land needed to finish the project.
DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan told reporters that in “two to three months”, the Calax Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange would be completed after months of delays over right-of-way issues. The project was supposed to be completed in December last year.
Bonoan said the agency secured a writ of possession on the remaining portion of land owned by a private company. Presiding Judge Michael Maranan of the Branch 134 of Tagaytay City Regional Trial Court issued an order dated Feb. 23 directing the branch Sheriff to implement the writ of possession without delay.
“As prayed for and as agreed upon by the parties, the defendant [Uneco Land Corp] is given a period of 10 days before the actual implementation of the writ to remove , transfer or relocate the horses, farm tools and equipment and other things not otherwise considered as part of the building or structure that may found in the subject property,” Maranan said.
The undelivered right of way is a crucial part to finish the construction of CALAX Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange.
The ROW issues prevent continuous works, including construction of drainage and bridge, excavation and roadway earthworks and installation of fence and coco net.
“They [MPCALA Holdings Inc.] can now continue the construction,” Bonoan said.
Bonoan also committed to expediting the delivery of ROW for the remaining segment of the CALAX Project this year.
“I was able to talk to DBM [Department of Budget and Management], and they assured me that they will be releasing the funds necessary for the acquisition of the right-of-way for CALAX,” he said.
The DPWH chief said the DBM allocated P2 billion for CALAX right-of-way this year.
Subsection 4 or the Silang (Aguinaldo) segment reached 65 percent completion, while more than 57 percent of the whole CALAX project already done.
Once completed, CALAX will connect to the busiest highway in Cavite—the Aguinaldo Highway—and help decongest major thoroughfares in the province and Laguna. The interchange will serve more motorists, including the 298,000 Silang residents, given the reduced congestion.
CALAX will expand to 45 kilometers and connect to the CAVITEX. At present, its operational segments stretches from Mamplasan in Binan, with interchanges at Laguna Technopark, Laguna Boulevard, Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road, up to Silang East Interchange.
MPCALA Holdings Inc. is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the toll road development arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
MPTC is the biggest toll road developer and operator in the Philippines. Aside from CALAX and CAVITEX, it also holds the concession rights for North Luzon Expressway, NLEX Connector Road, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway in Cebu.
