MANILA, Philippines?Some 215 families affected by the planned construction of the North Luzon Expressway-C5 Northern Link Project were relocated to their new homes in Northville 1a, in the village of Punturin, Valenzuela city by the National Housing Authority.

The new residents of the resettlement site 1a form part of a total of 802 qualified residents displaced at Sitio Kaingin, Barangay Gen. T. De Leon, in the same city to give way to the construction of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx)-C5 Northern Link Project.

The area needs to be cleared of the settlers within the month to begin the construction of Segment 8.1 of Phase 2 of the NLEx-C5 Interconnection Project, according to City Housing and Resettlement Office Head Ellen Reyes.

The Northville 1a housing project in Valenzuela city is a four-hectare resettlement site built to resettle the affected residents of Sitio Kaingin. Each qualified family will receive a 30-square-meter lot, and a house and lot costing P175,000 that beneficiaries will amortize within 30 years.

The relocation of the affected residents is being implemented by the NHA, the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.

The NLEx-C5 connection Phase 2 is being constructed by the Manila North Tollways Corporation as part of the national government?s Luzon Urban Beltway Program intended to decongest Metro Manila roads and facilitate travel to and from the provinces.

The project includes the building of a cloverleaf interchange in Valenzuela City to connect C-5 Road directly NLEX. The project?s Phase 2 is a 22-km extension of the 84-kilometer expressway that will span the northern portion of C-5 at the University of the Philippines all the way to Malabon City. Segment 8.1 is targeted for completion by the first half of 2009.