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Thursday, October 28, 2004
Excessive: Pampanga dad on expressway P18B cost
By Chris Navarro
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- At P42 million a kilometer, the cost of improving the 84-kilometer new North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) may have been "excessive".
The matter cropped up during Wednesday's hearing by a Pampanga Provincial Board (PB) committee on the proposed expressway toll schedules.
PB Member Aurelio Gonzales, vice chairman of the committee on public works and transportation, said he learned from the Manila North Tollway Corporation (MNTC) that the overall cost of rehabilitating the expressway was P18.3 billion or US$400 million.
Gonzales said the cost may have been excessive as it would translate to P42 million per kilometer of work repair.
"I believe we deserve to know how the MNTC came up with such a gargantuan amount," Gonzales said.
The MNTC will assume management of the expressway by Nov. 30.
Gonzales, who is a professional builder and contractor, believes that this amount is "too high," saying that based on his research and findings, the cost of a concrete road per lane kilometer would only amount to roughly P16 million per kilometer, with enbankment, sub-base and cement-treated base, among others.
The total cost of the expressway project -- if it were a concrete road -- should have only been P7 billion, he pointed out.
If it were an asphalt roadway, Gonzales said the cost would only be P6 billion for the whole 84-kilometer stretch, which spells a difference of close to P12 billion.
Gonzales said the MNTC also must be transparent about its basis for new and increasing rates.
"If you ask me, I can readily say that if the toll rates were based merely on the cost of construction, then these are really exorbitant. I am sure the MNTC included in their computation the cost of money, profit, recovery of investment and others," Gonzales said.
Gonzales also urged the PB to conduct its own study and undertake the necessary steps to protect the public from being unfairly burdened by the high expressway rates.
Marlene Ochoa, vice president for public relations of the MNTC, said they are in the process of giving special rates and discounts to frequent users of the expressway and are still studying the possibility of the rates being adjusted or lowered.
PB Member Nestor Tolentino, an engineer by profession, said the Nlex is only P2.7 billion less compared to the cost of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway Project.
"The improvement of the Nlex, which is 84 kilometers long, costs P18.3 billion, with existing roads, right of way, bridges and others amenities, while the SCTEP is 94 kilometers long and costs P21 billion - with no existing roads, toll plazas, bridges, fences, right of way. The difference is merely P2.7 billion," Tolentino said.
(October 28, 2004 issue)
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