The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to award the North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway (NLEx-SLEx) connector road project to its original proponent after no other company submitted a comparative proposal on July 25.
The four-lane elevated expressway will be awarded to the Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. and its subsidiaries.
The connector road will help reduce congestion within central Manila and around the Port Area. It will also provide an alternative route to Circumferential Road 5 (C5), Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa), and other major thoroughfares, and reduce the transit time between the NLEx and SLEx from 1.5 to 2 hours to 15 to 20 minutes.
Under the Build-Operate-Transfer scheme, the P23.2-billion cost involves the design, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the 8-kilometer connector road over the Philippine National Railway (PNR) right of way. The project will start from C3 Road in Caloocan City through Manila, crossing España Avenue toward the Polytechnic University of the Philippines campus and Sta. Mesa, and connecting to Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 (MMSS3).
The NLEx-SLEx Connector Road has a concession period of 37 years, inclusive of a two-year construction period. On May 6, 2010, the MPTDC, jointly and with the conformity of its subsidiary, the Manila North Tollways Corp., submitted an amended/supplemental and restated unsolicited proposal for the project to DPWH. The agency granted the MPTDC on April 4, 2011 and its subsidiaries the “Original Proponent” status for the project. It was advertised on April 1, 2016, for submission of comparative proposals.
The project attracted seven firms including San Miguel Holdings Corp., Obrascon Huarte Lain SA, Hunan Road and Bridge Corp., and four law firms, but they did not submit their proposals when the deadline came. The DPWH has set a tentative date of awarding the project in October and the signing of contract in November.