RESIDENTS as well as visitors of hotels in six barangays in Lapu-Lapu City will get more benefit from using the Lapu-Lapu Expressway (LLEX), once it is completed, as there are a number of exits incorporated in the project leading to different barangays, resorts and subdivisions.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, in his weekly press conference on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, said the LLEX will not only go from Barangay Babag straight to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), but exits are incorporated in the project to cater to residents living in Barangays Pajac and Bankal, as well as to the hotels and resorts in Punta Engaño.
“Magsanga man na siya, kay ang expressway dili man na ingon nga all the way ra siya sa airport,” said Chan. (It will branch out because the expressway will not just go all the way to the airport.)
Chan said the construction of the P25 billion expressway project will begin immediately after the groundbreaking ceremony.
The City targets to hold the groundbreaking ceremony for the project on Sept. 8.
Chan said the construction will start in Barangay Babag, and no properties will be affected in the initial phase of the construction.
He also said it will pass through the waterway in Barangay Basak.
Chan said several properties are expected to be affected by the project; however, he was not able to provide the specific number of affected properties.
“As much as possible, we are looking for ways to avoid hitting houses,” he said during the memorandum of understanding signing last Jan. 30.
SunStar tried to reach the City Engineer’s Office for the number of affected properties, but there was no response as of this writing.
Chan assured that monetary compensation will be given to the affected property owners.
The LLEX is a 12-kilometer expressway project, starting in Barangay Babag 2, passing through MEZ (Mactan Economic Zone), Mactan Aviation Road, Barangays Pajac, Buaya, Bankal, Ibo, with its end point in Pusok.
The LLEX is expected to provide economic returns worth P66.5 billion over a 50-year period.
On June 17, 2022, Mayor Chan and LLEX Corp. president Manuel Gonzales Jr. signed the memorandum of agreement on the project in Lapu-Lapu City a week after the City Council allowed Chan to sign a joint venture agreement between the city government and LLEX Corp.
LLEX Corp. is a special purpose company organized for the purpose of implementing the LLEX project, which was awarded to the consortium of Premium Megastructure Inc., Ulticon Builders Inc. and MTD Philippines Inc.
The City’s share in the gross toll income would be one percent from the first to the 15th year, increasing to 1.5 percent from the 16th to the 25th year, two percent from the 26th to the 35th year, and 2.5 percent should there be the extension period from the 36th to the 50th year.
Chan said they have extended an invitation to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to grace the groundbreaking ceremony, as this will be the first skyway to be built outside the National Capital Region.