NLEx operator taps P10-B loan from BPI

The operator of North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) secured a P10-billion loan facility from Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to fund capital expenditures (CapEx) as it ramps up toll road projects.In a statement on Thursday, NLEx Corp. said its 10-year term loan agreement with the Ayala-led bank would also refinance its maturing obligations. “This loan agreement will help us to meet our current obligations with our key stakeholders and finance all repairs and maintenance of the expressway as well as our ongoing and future projects like the Candaba 3rd Viaduct,” said Rogelio Singson, president and CEO of parent company Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. The 5-kilometer viaduct—linking Apalit, Pampanga, and Pulilan, Bulacan—will be built between the two existing viaducts, expanding road capacity. The P7.89-billion project would increase the speed limit at the expressway to 60 to 80 km per hour (kph) from the current 40 to 60 kph.“This project is just one of our company’s major initiatives in solving the growing traffic demand of the north. In partnership with the government, we aim to contribute to elevating the transportation system of the country,” NLEx Corp. president J. Luigi Bautista said.Next year, NLEx Corp. is spending about P15 billion in capital expenditures for road widening and other expansion projects.

Apart from the Candaba project, it is also set to work on the P5.5-billion lane expansion of the road linking San Fernando, Pampanga, and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx).

Bautista said earlier they were eyeing to start construction by the first quarter of 2024. It will take about two years to complete the expansion. INQ