METRO Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) said its 30 billion peso Cebu-Cordova Link Highway (CCLEX) was nearing completion and an electronic toll system was being prepared.

“The preparations for the electronic system are underway and we anticipate that the CCLEX will have a cashless toll system to provide the constituency public with a convenient and smooth journey by providing this type of innovative solution”, Rodrigo E. Franco, President and CEO of MPTC. said in a statement posted on the official website of CCLEX.

The 8.5-kilometer toll bridge is 75% complete in June, according to MPTC subsidiary Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corp. (CCLEC).

CCLEC expects the project to be largely completed by the end of 2021.

“CCLEX has a design speed of 80 kilometers per hour (km / h) and a headroom or navigation height of 51 meters in order to allow large vessels to pass under the bridge,” the company noted.

“CCLEX not only reduces traffic and makes travel more convenient, but also stimulates business activities and opens up greater economic opportunities for Cebu and the rest of the Visayan region,” he added.

The toll bridge project, which is expected to serve around 50,000 vehicles per day, will link Cebu City to Cordova, south of Mactan Island.

The bridge was originally scheduled to open in March, in time for the commemoration of the 500^e anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines.

MPTC is the toll arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of the three main Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund, has a controlling interest in Business world through the Philippine Star Group, which he controls. – Arjay L. Balinbin