NLEX, Leighton forge deal for Candaba 3rd Viaduct project

NLEX Corporation announced that it has engaged CIMIC Group company Leighton Asia-Philippines Branch for the design and construction of the new five-kilometer third Candaba viaduct.

The aforementioned agreement for the project — eyed to cost P6.1 billion — was signed by NLEX Corporation President and General Manager Luigi Bautista, NLEX Chief Finance Officer Maria Theresa Wells, Leighton Asia Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia General Manager Jan Torka, and Leighton Asia-Philippines Branch Country Manager and President Enrique Chuidian Jr.

“After a thorough bidding process and evaluation, we have awarded the project to Leighton Asia. We trust their knowledge and expertise when it comes to building safe and high-quality roads and bridges, having completed a lot of our major projects, with the NLEX Harbor Link as the most recent one,” Bautista was quoted as saying.

The Candaba viaduct, which connects Pulilan, Bulacan, and Apalit, Pampanga, is the strategic expressway link that has been serving Metro Manila, and Central and North Luzon corridor for numerous years already.

Aimed at making travel safer and easier by expanding the road from three lanes without shoulder to three lanes with inner and outer shoulder in each direction, the aforementioned project is set to commence  within the initial quarter of the year until next year.

“We are honored to build on our long-term partnership with NLEX Corporation, whom we have worked for over two decades, to enhance the transportation network in the Philippines. We will apply Leighton Asia’s international expertise and local experience to ensure the safe and successful delivery of this project,” Torka said.

The tollway operator continues to make viable engineering interventions to enhance the Candaba Viaduct’s capacity and serviceability. Currently, a major safety upgrade is being undertaken at the viaduct’s southbound portion to further ensure the safety of motorists.

In the previous years, NLEX upgraded some priority bridge link slabs, strengthened columns through steel jacketing, and constructed lay-bys or emergency stops in both northbound and southbound directions of the bridge.

Photos from NLEX Corporation

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