MANILA, Philippines — Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) unit NLEX Corp. said it may be able to start with the construction of the North Luzon Expressway - South Luzon Expressway (NLEX-SLEX) connector road project only in the first quarter of next year due to unforeseen delays in right-of-way or ROW acquisitions.

In a briefing last Friday, NLEX Corp. president and chief executive officer Rodrigo Franco said while ROW acquisitions are moving, these are not yet complete, preventing the company from jumpstarting the project.

“The ROW is still ongoing for the connector. We need substantial ROW to start the construction,” Franco said.

He conceded that it is really more difficult to complete ROW acquisitions in Metro Manila because land is more expensive. At least 50 percent of the needed ROWs have been acquired.

The company expects to start construction early next year because of the delay in ROW acquisition, a responsibility of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

But Franco said the process is moving and they hope to see more substantial ROW acquisitions by the end of the year to be able to start construction early next year.

Once the company is able to commence construction early next year, it hopes to complete the project by the end of 2021.

With a cost of P23.3 billion, the NLEX-SLEX connector road project is an eight-kilometer, all elevated four-lane toll expressway which would extend the NLEX southward from the end of Segment 10 in C3 Road Caloocan City to PUP Sta. Mesa, Manila and connect to the Skyway Stage 3, mostly traversing the Philippine National Railways’ track.

It will include two interchanges located at C3 Road in Caloocan and España in Manila.

It’s been touted by Public Works Secretary Mark Villar as a crucial infrastructure project that would decongest Metro Manila by providing cargo trucks their own highway.

It would likewise help stimulate development in Manila, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and surrounding areas.

Once completed, the project is expected to benefit at least 35,000 motorists per day.

It is expected to cut travel time from SLEX to NLEX to 20 minutes from two hours, as well as from Clark to Calamba to one hour and 40 minutes from approximately three hours.

The MVP Group was hoping to have formal turnover of the sites in June, but ROW acquisitions have delayed the process.

Aside from the NLEX-SLEX connector road project, MPIC is building other tollways such as the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, NLEX-Harbor Link Segment 10, C-5 South Link ,and Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway.

At present, MPIC operates the following tollways: NLEX, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, and the Manila Cavite Toll Expressway.

In addition to tollways, MPIC is into other businesses such as water, power, hospitals, railways, and logistics.