The on-time completion of the two connector roads of the Cavitex Expressway (CAVITEX) has recently acquired fresh momentum, inspired by the expression of support by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., when he led the groundbreaking and inauguration of the three CAVITEX links or connector roads in different locations in one day.
“The Presidential declaration of support for these major infrastructure projects has energized us all in completing the projects on time, leaving no stone unturned to finish the job,” thus declared Raul L. Ignacio, president of the CAVITEX Infrastructure Corporation,” a subsidiary of the larger Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) of the MVP Group.
Final step to enhance transport infra.
In his speech, President Marcos called the actions taken only last week as “the final step in completing the CAVITEX C5 Link Expressway, enhancing our transportation infrastructure network on behalf of countless motorists and passengers.” And “the [CAVITEX]-CALAX Link, originating from Kawit, Cavite, is a 1.2-kilometer connection whose length may be short, but its impact will be substantial. By establishing a direct connection to CALAX, we also ease the traffic congestion at the busy intersection of Tirona Highway and Centennial Road.” With this, we anticipate a significant improvement in the road network connectivity from Kawit to the greater CALABARZON region.
President Marcos and his transport-related Cabinet members were joined by Manuel V. Pangilinan, MPTC chairman; Rogelio Singson, president and CEO of Metro Pacific Tollways; and Raul L. Ignacio, president and general manager of Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation.
Two contractors: Beat the deadline
DMCI, under a PHP3.3 billion contract, has committed to meet the construction deadline to finish Segment 3B, the final portion of the CAVITEX C5 Link, a six-lane 2.0 km expressway connecting CAVITEX at Paranaque in the West and C5 Road Taguig in the East. This segment will enable motorists to travel from Cavite to Taguig City, bypassing a number of service roads.
EEI will be completing the 1.3km dual 2-lane CAVITEX-CALAX Link Extension also in August 2025, envisioned to stimulate commerce and industry in Cavite, Laguna and Metro Manila.
“The Presidential imprimatur has resonated as the President’s marching orders for our CIC project managers and our two contractors to speed up the construction so that the two segments will be ready for full operations on August 2025,” Ignacio pointed out.
Right-of-way acquisition
For both construction projects, Ignacio earlier met his right-of-way (ROW) acquisition team in order to resolve all issues to ultimately clear the way for the road alignments and access roads. Progress has been made in CIC’s mix of persuasive initiatives addressed to project affected persons (PAPs) made up of legal, financial and communication strategies, Ignacio added.
At press time, the ROW status of Segment 3B of the C5 Link stands at 70.60 percent, leaving the CIC ROW project managers only 29.4 percent balance to finish the job, Ignacio added. On the other hand, the progress of the CAVITEX-CALAX Link ROW acquisition is ahead with 77.14 percent, leaving CIC only 22.86 percent to clear the way for this alignment.
“With this new impetus from the Palace, we will beat our construction deadline — and the winner is every motorist and passenger south of Metro Manila and beyond,” Ignacio said.