SMC, DPWH break ground for SLEX extension, inauguration set in 2022

The P13.1-billion South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 4 (SLEX TR4) connecting the provinces of Batangas and Quezon is scheduled to be inaugurated in 2022, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said Tuesday.

In an emailed statement from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), SMC President and COO Ramon Ang said the SLEX extension is set to be inaugurated in 36 months after the groundbreaking on Tuesday, March 26.

"In 36 months, I am confident we will be back to inaugurate the finished expressway," Ang was quoted as saying. "With this new toll road comes progress. New businesses will emerge and bring growth to the level of small towns and barangays."

SMC, through its subsidiary South Luzon Tollway Corp. (SLTC), will take charge of the project within four years, which, once completed, will have seven interchanges — Sto. Tomas, Batangas; Makban and San Pablo City in Laguna; Tiaong, Candelaria, Tayabas, and Lucena City in Quezon Province.

Construction of the 66.74-kilometer extension will be done in six packages — Package A from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Makban, Laguna (11.32-kilometers); Package B from Makban to San Pablo, Laguna (12.75 km.); Package C from San Pablo to Tiaong, Quezon (7.5 km.); Package D from Tiaong to Candelaria, Quezon (15 km.); Package E from Candelaria to Tayabas, Quezon (10.21 km.); and Package F from Tayabas to Lucena City, Quezon (9.96 km.).

According to Ang, an estimated 17,000 vehicles are expected to pass through the toll road every day.

"During rush hour, motorists have to endure a long 4-hour drive due to the lengthy and busy Daang Maharlika between Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City, Quezon. This will only take an hour once TR4 is completed,” said Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/KBK, GMA News