DMCI bags P8-B contract for NLEX Connector Road’s first section
Credit to Author: Lisbet K. Esmael| Date: Tue, 05 Nov 2019 15:00:16 +0000
PANGILINAN-LED NLEX Corp. has awarded to construction firm DM Consunji Inc. (DMCI) the P8-billion contract to build the first section of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Connector Road.
DMCI also said developing Sangley point into an international airport was “not on their radar,” contrary to an earlier statement coming from the Cavite governor’s office.
NLEX Corp. President Luigie Bautista said DMCI would focus on the first five-kilometer section of the P23.3-billion project, which stretches from Grace Park in Caloocan City to España Avenue in Manila.
Actual works for the first four to five kilometers may start by “end of November,” he said, despite that only 50 percent of the right-of-way for the first section has been delivered.
“It’s about two kilometers in the Caloocan section so it’s enough work area for them to start. There’s going to be construction as the right of way is being acquired,” the official said following a site inspection in Caloocan.
The construction of the first section would last 20 months.
For the second section, which would run from España to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila, Bautista said the company may award the contract by March 2020.
“We are looking forward to provide further convenience to our motorists as the NLEX Connector aims to decongest major thoroughfares such as EDSA and C5,” Bautista said in the statement.
The NLEX Connector Road is an eight-kilometer, all-elevated four-lane toll expressway extending the NLEX southward from the end of Segment 10 in C3 Road in Caloocan City to the PUP campus, and connecting to the Skyway Stage 3, and mostly traversing the Philippine National Railway train track. The project includes two interchanges at C3 Road and España.
Once completed, the multibillion peso project would cut travel time between NLEX and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) from two hours to 20 minutes and cater to 35,000 motorists a day.
Not interested yet in Sangley aiport
On an earlier statement from the Cavite provincial government about DMCI being interested in bidding for the P10-billion Sangley International Airport project, Dwight David Ta-ala, vice president for infrastructure at DMCI, said the matter was not yet under the group’s consideration.
After Cavite Gov. Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla said on October 29 that DMCI was one of the six groups that bought bidding documents, its parent company clarified to the local bourse that it only attended a pre-bid conference for the Sangley project.
Ta-ala noted that if the Cavite government decides to divide the project to subpackages, this “may not look attractive to some contractors.”
The place of the air hub would also be considered, he added.
“The place is already far, so it is not viable. It depends really on how they package the work,” Ta-ala said.
Out of the six that purchased the bidding documents, Remulla only identified three big industry players, including the Ayala Group and SM Group.
In a disclosure dated October 30, Ayala Corp. neither confirmed nor deny whether it bought bidding documents, but noted its real estate arm Ayala Land “has made general inquiries with the Cavite local government regarding the project.”
Remulla told reporters reclamation of land may cost at least $3 billion, while the investment for the construction of the airport may reach $7 billion. The deadline for securing of bids was set on November 11.