One of the solutions to the worsening traffic problem in Cebu will soon be realized as officials of Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corp. (CCLEC) formally awarded the “Design and Build” contract to the Cebu Link Joint Venture (CLJV) for the CCLEX, the 8.5-kilometer toll bridge project that will link Cebu City from its prime South Road Properties (SRP) to Barangay Pilipog of Cordova Municipality in Mactan Island.
Cordova Mayor Mary Therese P. Sitoy-Cho and Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña witnessed as Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) President and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco and CCLEC President and General Manager Allan G. Alfon handed the copy of the signed Notice of Award of the P22.6-billion contract to Acciona Construccion Southeast Asia Director Ruben Camba, who represented CLJV. CLJV, is a consortium of Spain-based Acciona Construccion SA and Philippine-based First Balfour Inc. and D. M. Consunji Inc.
Also present during the ceremonial awarding were Presidential Adviser on Legislative Affairs Adelino B. Sitoy, First Balfour Inc. President Anthony Fernandez and D.M. Consunji President Jorge A. Consunji.
CCLEC, a subsidiary company of MPTC, will build, operate and maintain CCLEX under a joint venture agreement with the Municipality of Cordova and the Cebu City Government. The expressway project will provide alternative link between Mactan Island, where the Mactan-Cebu International Airport is located and Metro Cebu, the regional growth center of the Visayas.
Aside from providing travel efficiency, CCLEX is seen to help spur economic growth and boost investments not just in Cebu City and Cordova Municipality, but also in the entire Cebu Province and Visayas Region.
Alfon said with their partner contractors, they can ensure that workmanship in implementing the project will be of first-class quality and in accordance with the best modern practice for design and construction. He added that the presence of all parties behind the bridge project in the event signified everyone’s commitment to work together towards the common goal, in this case the construction of CCLEX, which is currently one of the largest infrastructure projects in the Philippines.
The CCLEX, which is the first of MPTC’s envisioned toll road expansion projects in Visayas and Mindanao, will have two lanes each direction and will feature the main twin cable-stayed bridge structure, viaduct and causeway. It will help decongest the existing Mactan-Mandaue and Marcelo Fernan bridges, where traffic at present already builds up in both approaches particularly during peak hours. The expressway will provide fast and convenient travel for motorists as it will significantly reduce the distance between Cordova and Cebu City to 8.5 kilometers from 20.7 kilometers.
Last March 2, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte led the groundbreaking ceremony for the project in Cordova, Cebu.
MPTC is the toll road arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), a publicly listed infrastructure holding company and is a member of the MVP group of companies. It is the largest toll road concessionaire and operator in the Philippines that has now expanded its business in other Asean countries namely, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
