By: Darwin G. Amojelar, as seen on http://manilastandard.net/business/transport-tourism/290923/nlex-to-tap-debt-market-in-2nd-quarter-to-fund-road.html, March 25, 2019 at 07:20 pm

NLEX Corp. plans to tap the debt market next quarter to finance the construction of the North Luzon Expressway Connector Road Project.

Christopher Daniel Lizo, chief financial officer of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., said NLEX plans to use the unused portions of the company’s P25-billion bond shelf registration program for the NLEX Connector Road.

NLEX in July last year issued P6 billion worth of fixed rate bonds under a P25-billion bond shelf registration program.

The P23 billion NLEx Connector is an eight-kilometer elevated toll expressway over the right-of-way of the Philippine National Railways.

The project starts at the junction of NLEx Segment 10 at C-3 Road/5th Ave. in Caloocan City and will connect to South Luzon Expressway through Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 Project in Manila. Upon completion, the toll road expects to benefit around 35,000 vehicles a day.

The company last month inaugurated the NLEx Harbor Link Segment 10, which is expected to improve the accessibility and connectivity between key areas of Metro Manila and the northern provinces of Luzon through North Luzon Expressway.

Traversing the cities of Valenzuela, Malabon and Caloocan, the 5.65-km, six-lane NLEx Harbor Link Segment 10 is seen to divert 30,000 vehicles daily away from the busy streets of Metro Manila. With the road, travel time between C3 and NLEx will only take five minutes.

It will also facilitate the efficient delivery of goods as cargo trucks will have alternative access from the Port Area in Manila to the provinces in Central and Northern Luzon.

The elevated expressway will enable travelers from Manila to Central and North Luzon to have a shorter travel time as they can head straight to NLEx, bypassing Edsa and the Balintawak Toll Plaza.

The next phase of the project is the 2.6-km section from C3 Road, Caloocan City to R10, Navotas City.NLEX Corp. operates the NLEX and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

The NLEx spans approximately 95 kilometers and serves an average of 237,046 vehicles daily.

SCTEx, meanwhile, is a 94-km expressway stretching from Subic-Tipo to La Paz, Tarlac, connecting the special economic zones in Subic and Clark and Olongapo City to Tarlac City.