MANILA, Philippines — Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) has moved anew the full opening of the long-delayed Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) to the first half of 2026 following the recent award of the remaining contracts for the project.
CALAX concessionaire and MPTC subsidiary MPCALA Holdings Inc. (MHI) yesterday said the tollway is now expected for completion only by the first semester of 2026.
Fortunately, MHI has awarded the remaining segments of CALAX so that contractors can begin construction and keep up with the deadline.
MHI issued Subsection 1 (Open Canal to Kawit) to construction giant EEI Corp. and Subsection 2 (Governor’s Drive to Open Canal) to CM Pancho Construction Inc. Subsection 1 is important to bridging CALAX to the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) via Kawit, Cavite.
Aside from this, MHI is waiting for the delivery of Subsection 3 covering the segment leading to Governor’s Drive. The section is one of the longest in the tollway, spanning 8.64 kilometers.
Originally, Subsections 1, 2 and 3 were supposed to be opened this year, but MHI has struggled to deliver on this commitment for a mix of mostly uncontrollable reasons.
In August, then-MPTC president and CEO Jose Maria Lim said construction has slowed recently on challenges posed by weeks of bad weather.
MPTC also had to redirect attention to the North Luzon Expressway after it was hit with issues that caught regulatory scrutiny, from road crashes to worsening flooding.
In its entirety, CALAX will span 44.58 kilometers between Mamplasan Rotunda and Kawit, and will be linked to CAVITEX, also operated by MPTC. The tollway will reduce travel time from Biñan, Laguna to Kawit to just 35 minutes, from two hours right now.
Currently, CALAX is open partially in the following interchanges: Laguna Technopark, Laguna Boulevard, Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road, Silang East and Aguinaldo. The tollway, once completed, is expected to serve as many as 95,000 motorists daily.
MHI received the concession for CALAX a decade ago in 2015, but the concessionaire failed to finish the project on time because of right of way delays.
MHI is a unit under the MPTC, which manages toll projects in Luzon and one in Visayas.
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