Villar wants entire C5 South Link project finished by 2021

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar wants the 7.7-kilometer expressway connecting C5 road in Taguig City to the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CavitEx), or C5 South Link Expressway, finished by 2021, ahead of the 2022 target.

“I’m looking forward for the full opening by 2021. Nagbitaw na ko ng salita, nakakahiya na pag di natin ginawa yung 2021,” Villar said during the opening of Segment 3A1 of the C5 South Link Expressway in Parañaque City on Tuesday.

The 2.2-kilometer Segment 3A1 of the C5 South Link Expressway spans CP Garcia in Taguig City to Merville in Parañaque City.

Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC) president Roberto Bontia told reporters that completing the entire C5 South Link Expressway by 2021 is “doable” but “a lot of it really depends on the right of way.”

CIC is a concession company under Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC).

Segment 3A2, connecting E. Rodriquez Ave. to Merville, will start construction in the last quarter of 2019 and is expected to be finished by second quarter of next year.

Segment 2, traversing R1 (Aguinaldo Blvd.) Interchange to South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), will start construction in November and is targeted to be completed in April 2022.

Meanwhile, Segment 3B, connecting Sucat to E. Rodriguez Ave., will begin construction by April 2020 and is targeted to be completed by first quarter of 2022.

“At the moment, the next section (3A2) ‘di  binigay ni MIAA (Manila International Airport Authority) ‘yung right of way ... That’s 100%,” Bontia said.

“The more problematic segment is actually 3B which at the moment is less than 30% ‘yung right of way,” he said.

For Segment 2, around 69% of right of way issue has been addressed.

“But we have to relocate, NHA (National Housing Authority) has to relocate roughly 1,800 families na informal settlers. At the moment what they have sa Cavite 500 pa lang. So the remaining 1,300 we really have to find a way to resettle …” he said. —VDS, GMA News