SMC says right-of-way issues delaying road linking Skyway 3 to NLEx

MANILA, Philippines—Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said a 1.2 kilometer road linking its Skyway Stage 3 project to the NLEx Connector project is facing delays because of right-of-way issues.

The NLEx Connector project is set to be finished in 2022. Being built by a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., the project is a second elevated tollroad after the Skyway Stage 3 that would link the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) in Metro Manila.

SMC said the 1.2-km road link is part of the detailed engineering design of the Skyway Stage 3, which was inaugurated by President Rodrigo Duterte last Jan. 14. It is also a vital project since it connects two major road infrastructure projects in Metro Manila.

SMC, however, said it is currently facing right-of-way problems at the Nagtahan to Sta. Mesa areas in Manila.

SMC president Ramon S. Ang said in a statement that the conglomerate planned to finish the road within 24 months after right-of-way issues are settled.

The acquisition of right-of-way for major infrastructure projects is typically handled by the government. But Ang said SMC was also allocating funds to hasten the buy out of land along the road’s alignment.

“We’re already mobilizing our contractors to start work in areas that are unobstructed, where we’re permitted to work,” Ang said. “We’re also already committing the funds needed to buy the ROW properties, so hopefully, these issues will be resolved the soonest,” he added.

Right-of-way acquisition is a perennial cause of delay for big-ticket infrastructure projects. Ang said it was also the “single biggest constraint” for the Skyway Stage 3, whose groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2014.

“The alignment for this connection to the NLEx connector project, which the Metro Pacific Tollways Group is building, was supposed to be built together with Section 2 of Skyway 3 in the Nagtahan to Sta. Mesa area,” Ang said.

“However, about two years since we first worked on workable areas for Skyway 3, the ROW issue in section 2 threatened to stall the project,” he added.

Ang said these issues also caused the company to revise the alignment of the Skyway Stage 3 “so that the project could be completed faster and provide a solution to traffic.”