NEWSFLASH

FINISH COASTAL ROAD EXTENSION TO NOVELETA -- ERAP

Manila, Feb. 19, 2000 - President Estrada has ordered the immediate completion of the unfinished portions of the P7.2-billion Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (MCTE) project as part of the government’s infrastructure buildup to spur economic growth.

In 1994, United Engineers Malaysia (UEM) Berhad signed a joint venture agreement with the Public Estates Authority (PEA) to undertake the tollway project, which will connect the Coastal Road to the C-5 raid as well as extend the expressway to Noveleta, Cavite. The project is a joint undertaking with the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).

The CRC, headed by Luis Juan Virata had assumed control of the project from UEM. The Malaysia-based firm was able to finish the first phase of the project. Toll collection started in mid-1998 and is being undertaken by PEA’s Tollway Corp. or PEATC. About 70,000 vehicles pass through the tollway everyday.

Negotiations are now going on for the implementation of the remaining portions of the 25.5 kilometer project, including the construction of the 7.55- kilometer link between C-5 and the Coastal Road and the 11.24 kilometer extension to Noveleta, Cavite, which also includes a reclamation component.

Earlier, the CRC expressed its intention to accelerate the Bacoor-Noveleta portion, which is the third and the last segment under the original project schedule.

Under CRC’s proposal, the C-5 Link, originally the second segment of the project, would be done only after the Bacoor-Noveleta segment would have been completed. The TRB has undertaken right-of-way acquisition for this segment, financed through a foreign loan earlier obtained by the PEA for TRB.

Once completed, the project is expected to drastically reduce travel time between Manila and Cavite and nearby areas.