The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced yesterday the opening of the P2.01-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway on July 24.

DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson said the four-kilometer Daang Hari-SLEX connector road, also known as the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX), was the first Public-Private Partnership project under the Aquino administration.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ayala Corp. said that its 80 percent-owned subsidiary MCX Tollway Inc. (MCXI), South Luzon Tollway Corp. (SLTC) and the Manila Toll Expressway Systems Inc. signed yesterday a memorandum of agreement on the interoperability of the expressway.

Singson said the expressway serves as an alternative route going to and from Metro Manila and Cavite, cutting travel time by an average of 45 minutes.

He said it would help decongest traffic in Cavite, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa.

“With the opening of the expressway, CALABARZON’s competitiveness as an investment destination would improve,” he said.

Nation ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The agreement on interoperability provides the framework that will govern the interface and integration of the technical operations and toll collection system between MCX and SLEX,” Ayala Corp. said.

The expressway is a vital access road that links Muntinlupa and Cavite to Metro Manila.

The project involved the construction of a four-lane toll road, from the junction of Daang Reyna and Daang Hari in Las Piñas and Bacoor, Cavite to SLEX through the Susana Heights Interchange in Muntinlupa, traversing the New Bilibid Prisons.

It would use the Susana Heights Interchange as exit and entry points.

The project was awarded to Ayala Corp. in December 2011. It was scheduled to open last June but was delayed due to interconnection problems with SLEX.

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