Skyway Stage 3 to partially open on Dec. 29, be toll-free for a month

The 18-kilometer Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 is set to partially open on Tuesday, December 29, and will be accessible by motorists for free for a month, the project's private proponent announced Monday.

San Miguel Corp. chief operating officer Ramon Ang said the project is now expected to fully open on January 14.

"Despite the continuous rains that delayed its completion, the entire team worked so fard to deliver this game-changing project. Maraming salamat po," he said in a post made through his official Facebook page.

San Miguel Corp. is the parent company of CITRA Central Expressway Corporation (CCEC), which bagged the P44.86-billion Skyway Stage 3 Project. It involves the construction of an 18.83-kilometer elevated expressway from Buendia, Makati City to the North Luzon Expressway in Balintawak, Quezon City.

The project will connect the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), and reduce travel time between Buendia and Balintawak to 15 to 20 minutes from the current travel time of 2 hours.

To recall, SMC earlier said the project was completed ahead of the original schedule on October.

This came even after a portion of the project collapsed in February  due to a fire that broke out at a nearby warehouse in Pandacan, Manila.  —KBK, GMA News