San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is banking on two game-changing infrastructure projects to help the economy get back on track and transform Luzon into a growth powerhouse within five years.
The first project is the 420-km South Luzon Expressway Tollroad 5 (SLEX-TR5), that will connect Quezon province and the Bicol region. The second project is the 19.40-km Pasig River Expressway (PAREX), that will connect the eastern and western sides of Metro Manila. The two projects represent a combined P121.8 billion investment in the Philippine economy.
SMC president and COO Ramon S. Ang said much of that investment would go to salaries for thousands of workers and payments to local contractors, materials suppliers, haulers, and the national and local governments.
“As we said before, San Miguel is fully committed to helping our country overcome this crisis. A big part of that is to continue, and not hold back, on new investments,” Ang said.
“These projects will deliver hundreds of thousands of jobs and put money in the hands of the Filipinos—sustaining and boosting our economic recovery, even as we build for a much better future,” he added.
The SLEX TR5 is a four lane expressway starting from SLEX TR4 in Brgy. Mayao, Lucena City Quezon, ending at the Matnog Ferry Terminal in Sorsogon. It will reduce travel time from Lucena to Matnog from 9 hours to 5.5 hours, and connect major urban centers in Quezon and Bicol.
Meanwhile, the Pasig River Expressway is a six-lane, elevated expressway traversing the entirety of the Pasig River. It will start from Radial Road 10 in Manila and end at a connection of the South East Metro Manila Expressway (SEMME) at Circumferential Road 6 (C-6). It will reduce travel time from R-10 to C-6 to just 15 minutes and directly connect the western and eastern cities of Metro Manila.
The SLEX TR5 is expected to be completed within 46 months while the Pasig River Expressway’s completion period is 36 months.
“SLEX TR5 will take four years to complete, and PAREX, three years. By that time, the pandemic would have been far behind us. Other major infrastructure projects would also be complete. Our Bulacan Airport project would also be complete. So imagine: within five years, the Philippines will be transformed, and be better than ever,” he added.
The Toll Regulatory Board previously designated SMC’s proposed SLEX TR5 and PAREX as certified toll road projects.
With this, the technical working group of the TRB, composed of representatives from the DOTr, the Dept. of Public Works and Highways, the National Economic and Development Authority and Department of Finance, are now conducting discussions with SMC and its joint venture partner, PNCC, on the technical, financial, and legal considerations for the project.
