Construction and acquisition of road right-of-way (ROW) for the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAx) are being fast-tracked to complete the project in 2020, according to Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar.
“The construction of the 18-kilometer Laguna Segment which starts from Aguinaldo Interchange and ends in Mamplasan Interchange of South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) in Biñan, Laguna is 13.8% completed while the 27-kilometer Cavite Segment will soon begin,” Villar, who inspected the project recently, said in a statement.
For the road ROW, Villar said that to date, 96% of the letter offer has been served to the landowners, 81% of the signed deeds of absolute sale and expropriation cases have been submitted to the Office of the Solicitor General, and 21% of the permits to enter/writ of possessions have been issued.
CALAx is a 45.29-kilometer, four-lane toll road which starts from Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) in Kawit, Cavite and ends at the SLEX-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna, with eight interchanges along its length and one main toll barrier. It also has a bridge component of 12,207 meters, including 4,618 meters of viaduct.
“CALAx will be one of the most advanced highways in the Philippines. It is expected to ease traffic congestion along Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway and Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road,” Villar earlier noted.
With a total investment cost of P35.425 billion, the expressway project is being implemented by private concessionaire MPCALA Holdings, Inc. of the Metro Pacific Group under the public-private partnership scheme of the government. MPCALA won the CALAx project, a 35-year concession that includes financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining the expressway, in 2015.
