Task force to speed up NLEx link to Manila port formed

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar (left) inspects the NLEx-North Harbor link site.

CITY OF MALOLOS—Public Works Secretary Mark Villar on Wednesday formed a task force to speed up the acquisition of land blocking the 10.5-kilometer highway project that would link the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) to the North Harbor in Manila.

Rod Franco, president of Manila North Tollways Corp., operator of NLEx, said the project has been delayed for almost a year due to road right-of-way problems.

Villar said he wanted the road to be completed and opened by the end of the year to help ease traffic in Metro Manila and improve cargo movement from Manila port area to northern and central Luzon. —Carmela Reyes-Estrope