San Miguel Corp.’s subsidiary South Luzon Tollway Corp. will break ground today for the extension of South Luzon Expressway from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City, Quezon. San Miguel said the 66.74-kilometer South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 4 would significantly reduce travel time between the provinces south of Metro Manila. “Once we finish this tollway, the peace and order situation in Quezon and Bicol will improve. Local tourism will improve. New businesses will emerge. Progress will be brought to the level of the small towns and barangays,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said. The toll road will shorten the travel time from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Barangay Mayao in Lucena City from the usual three hours to just 45 minutes. This is expected to boost economic activity through the faster transport and delivery of goods and services and cut vehicle volume along the busy Maharlika Highway which is one of the main roads leading to the provinces of Laguna, Batangas, Quezon and the Bicol region. “We believe that TR4 will further unlock the economic potential and promote tourism in Laguna, Batangas, Quezon and Bicol provinces,” Ang said.Ang said the project was expected to be completed in three years or by 2021. “With the growing population of Metro Manila, more and more people and businesses will move to these provinces due to these areas’ proximity. We will continue to invest in modern toll roads and expressways that are at par with our neighbors in Asia. Under the leadership of President [Rodrigo] Duterte and Secretary Mark Villar, the TR4 project finally gets underway, and I look forward to inaugurating this project in 36 months,” he said. The toll road will be divided into six sections, namely: Sto Tomas, Batangas to Makban in Laguna (11.32 km); Makban to San Pablo City (12.75 km); San Pablo to Tiaong in Quezon (7.5 km); Tiaong to Candelaria (15 km); Candelaria to Tayabas (10.21 km); and Tayabas to Lucena (9.96 km). TR4 is a part of SLTC’s 30-year concession which will last until 2036. Apart from SLEx, San Miguel’s Star Tollway Corp. also operates Star Tollway, Skyway and the Naia Expressway in the south and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway in the northern part of Luzon.