CALAx 1st phase to open on December 2018

By December 2018, the first 7 kilometers of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAx) is set to be opened to motorists. This is ahead of the initial target of February 2019.

CALAx, which breaks ground in June last year, is a 44.6-kilometer, 4-lane toll road between the Cavite Expressway in Kawit, Cavite and the South Luzon Expressway – Mamplasan Interchange. Its first phase  runs from the Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna to Laguna Boulevard.

The winning concessionaire of the project is MPCALA Holdings Incorporated, a unit of listed Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC).

As Villar explained it, they asked MPIC if they can expedite the construction to December 2018 so they will have a Christmas gift for the motorists. “The original target was to open it in February next year, as a Valentine’s Day gift. But I said, it is more proper to give it as a Christmas present,” stated him.

The P7.2-billion agreement with DM Consunji Incorporated (DMCI) for the construction of the 18-km Laguna side of CALAX is signed by MPCALA. Furthermore, they are hiring Australia’s Leighton Holdings in a deal worth P7.3 billion for Cavite side.

MPCALA paid the government a premium bid of P27.3 billion. This is to win the CALAX contract on top of the project’s P35.42-billion construction cost. They shall operate and maintain CALAX for 35 years. The operations and maintenance of the expressway will be in the government’s hands after.

Villar reportedly said that the government has delivered by now about 60% right of way for the entire toll road project. He added that the construction for the entire CALAX is targeted to be completed by December 2020.

The 44.6-kilometer road project will connect nearby industrial zones to the capital of one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies.

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