Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. reminded passengers that it opened a new section of a toll road aimed at cutting road congestion around Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
SMC said it opened the so-called Phase 2-B of the Naia Expressway, which refers to the stretch from Naia road to the passenger Terminal 3 of the airport complex. This follows the Sept. 2016 opening of the toll road linking Macapagal Boulevard near the Entertainment City complex along Manila Bay to the Naia Terminals 1 and 2.
Toll fees for certain areas would be waived for a month, the company added.
“Toll will be free for motorists coming from the Skyway and the Villamor area, going to Macapagal and NAIA Terminal 1 and 2. Similarly, vehicles coming from Macapagal and Terminals 1 and 2 going to NAIA Terminal 3, Villamor and Skyway, will also be able to pass, toll-free,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said.
“With the arrival of many balikbayans and tourists this holiday season, along with the expected increase in vehicular traffic at around this time, we’re hoping that opening this section for free will provide our motorists even more convenience and a reason to smile,” he added.
SMC and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) partially opened the section connecting to Skyway, to help ease traffic congestion at the NAIA 3 area during the Holidays.
This section is set for full completion within the first quarter of 2017.
Meanwhile, motorists using NAIAX Phase 2-A, the segment that connects Macapagal Road to Terminals 1 and 2, will continue to pay the regular toll of P35.
Naia Expressway is a four-lane, 7.75-kilometer elevated expressway (12.65-km when counting ramps). It also includes a 2.22-km at grade road running from Sales Ave., Andrews Ave., Paranaque River, and MIAA Road as well as Diosdado Macapagal.
The toll road, initially scheduled to open under the Aquino administration, earlier suffered from right of way issues, including the relocation of critical utility assets along its alignment like power lines and water pipes.
The project was among the public private partnership projects launched by the Aquino administration. SMC, through Vertex Tollways Development Inc., won the P17.9 billion project in 2013 after its P11-billion bid bested the offer of sole rival Metro Pacific Investments Corp. JE