SMC starts work on Taguig-Batasan expressway

The South Luzon Expressway Skyway. File photo. AFP PHOTO/NOEL CELIS

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is starting work on an expressway project that is seen to cut travel time between Taguig City and the Batasan Complex in Quezon City to only 35 minutes.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Monday with government agencies led by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The project, formally known as the South East Metro Manila Expressway, is estimated to cost P45 billion and targeted for completion by 2020.

According to the DOTr, the 34-kilometer expressway will link SMC’s Skyway Stage 1 in the Food Terminal Inc. complex in Taguig City to the Batasan complex. Eventually, the expressway will connect to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) via Balagtas.

“When completed, travel time of motorists from Bicutan, Taguig to Batasan, Quezon City will be reduced to only 35 minutes,” the DOTr said on Monday.

The project, which is part of the Metro Manila C-6 Expressway project, will have six lanes, both for elevated and at-grade sections.

“Aside from decongesting roads in Manila and Quezon City, particularly major road networks such as EDSA, C-5, Ortigas Avenue, and its extension, [South East Metro Manila Expressway] shall likewise provide commuters and motorists fast and direct access by South and Southeast, as well as Metro Manila inter-city travelers, to major international and domestic airports,” the DOTr noted.

The DOTr said the project has a concession period of 30 years. SMC-led Citra Intercity Tollways Inc. is the project concessionaire for the C-6 expressway.

According to the DOTr, the C-6 expressway project will have a second phase involving a 24.28-kilometer expressway that would provide links to San Mateo, Rizal and San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.                            /kga –Miguel R. Camus