The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has approved the collection of an add-on toll and an initial toll along two portions of the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Project (MCTEP).
The regulatory board has approved the add-on toll rate for Phase 1 of the R-1 Enhancement Project on Segment 1 (R-1 Expressway) of MCTEP. It also gave the nod to the initial toll for the first 2.2 kilometers (km) of the Segment 3A-1 portion of the C-5 Link Expressway, which also forms part of MCTEP.
The initial toll will be collected once the TRB issues a Notice to Start Collection, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) said in a regulatory disclosure.
MPIC unit Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation and the Philippine Reclamation Authority, which are joint venture partners for MCTEP, separately filed petitions for the add-on toll on October 12, 2018 and for the initial toll on July 4, 2019. These petitions were processed jointly by the TRB.
For the add-on toll, motorists traversing the R-1 Expressway (from Seaside to Zapote) will pay the following additional amounts based on the new toll fee matrix: Class 1 vehicles (ordinary cars) will pay an additional P1; Class 2 vehicles (buses and small commercial trucks), an additional P2; and Class 3 vehicles (large trucks/trailers), an additional P3.
The additional toll rates will be added to the toll rates authorized as of 2009.
MPIC said the add-on toll rates are intended to cover the enhancement of R-1 Expressway, which includes widening the expressway by adding one lane on both directions; converting the carriageways from two-by-three lanes to two-by-four lanes, or a total of 5.20 km along each direction; as well as constructing the Marina Bay flyover and left-turning lanes.
MPIC said the enhancement aims to address motorists’ demands and resolve the congestion problem along this portion of the MCTEP.
“The add-on toll rates will help ensure the sustainability and viability of the MCTEP and the comfort and safety of motorists and other users of the MCTEP and all the toll facilities found therein,” MPIC added.
On the initial toll for Segment 3A-1 portion of C5-Link Expressway, motorists will have to pay the following amounts based on the new toll fee matrix: Class 1 vehicles (ordinary cars) will pay P22; Class 2 vehicles (buses and small commercial trucks), P44; and Class 3 vehicles (large trucks/trailers), P66.
Since the initial toll rate is provisional, the approval granted by the TRB is valid initially for a period of six months from the start of actual collection.
Segment 3A-1 is approximately 2.2 km long and is comprised of a two-by-three lane toll road that runs from C-5 Road in Taguig westward to Merville, Parañaque. It includes the flyover crossing the South Luzon Expressway.
MPIC said Segment 3A-1 will alleviate congestion and enable motorists to easily travel from Merville to Taguig and vice-versa. It is also seen to decongest Sales Road, as well as the East and West Service Roads, effectively delivering an immediate relief from traffic congestion.
MPIC said the collection of the provisional or interim initial toll fee for Segment 3A-1 will ensure the continued progress of the construction of the remaining segments of the C-5 Link Expressway in order to complete the expansion of the MCTEP toll road system into one integral system interconnecting various destinations within its geographical coverage.
