'Most Advanced Expressway' CALAEX Cuts Travel Time from Cavite to SLEX to Under 45 Minutes

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., subsidiary MPCALA Holdings, Inc., has started the construction of the 27-km Cavite segment of the 45-km Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAEX).

The PHP12 billion project is expected to cut the travel time of motorists coming from Cavite going to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX)-Mamplasan Interchange from 2.5 hours to less than 45 minutes. The government estimates that around 50,000 cars will be taken off the streets when the CALAEX becomes fully operational.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said that the project is part of President Rodrigo Duterte's vision to connect Luzon from north to south. Dubbed the 'Luzon Spine Expressway Network' (LSEN), the government's plan is to increase the current 300-km stretch expressway to 1,000 km by 2022.

"We will deliver not just on our promise to solve traffic, but to bring development to our provinces," Villar said.

Aside from reducing travel time to less than an hour, the expressways will further help develop the provinces of Cavite and Laguna.

Currently, Cavite has the biggest population in the country's provinces, setting an estimated 4.1 million in the country's demographic. Moreover, the CALABARZON is one of the most productive regions in the country, averaging almost 20 percent of the Philippines' Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Meanwhile, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) President and Chief Executive Officer Rodrigo Franco said that the Laguna segment of CALAEX is in full swing, and is expected to open the first section "during the third quarter or as early as July this year."