San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has started building the 1.2-kilometer link road that will connect the Skyway Stage 3 to the ongoing Nlex Connector, its chief said on Thursday.
Ramon S. Ang, the company’s president, said this development comes despite some issues pertaining to right of way (ROW) acquisition, which has “delayed the construction of the vital link.”
Currently, he said, the company is “working on what’s workable,” to mitigate delays in easement acquisition for the connection, located at the Nagtahan to Sta. Mesa areas in Manila. “This connection is vital because it will link two major expressways, Skyway Stage 3 and the Metro Pacific Tollways’ connector road project—making accessibility, interoperability, and ease of travel even better for the public,” said Ang.
The connection is part of the design of the Skyway 3. Should the ROW issues be resolved immediately, the link road should be completed within two years.
“We’re already mobilizing our contractors to start work in areas that are unobstructed, where we’re permitted to work. We’re also already committing the funds needed to buy the ROW properties, so hopefully, these issues will be resolved the soonest,” Ang said.
The alignment for the road was supposed to be built together with Section 2 of Skyway 3 in the Nagtahan to Sta. Mesa area.
“However, about 2 years since we first worked on workable areas for Skyway 3, the ROW issue in section 2 threatened to stall the project. That is why we proposed to realign Skyway 3 along the San Juan River, so that the project could be completed faster and provide a solution to traffic—not cause more of it,” Ang said.
He said his group has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Toll Regulatory Board and Department of Public Works and Highways despite the change in alignment.
“We basically already committed the budget for the ROW acquisition—we will pay for it—and we will complete this section within 24 months,” he said.
Ang hopes that the easement issues will be addressed soon, as ideally, the link road should be completed before or by the time the Nlex Connector is built.
“Originally, this was supposed to be delivered December 2020, but it’s now pushed back. But we want to assure the public and government that we will do everything to complete it in less than 24 months, once we get the ROW.”
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