Toll-Free Passage on First Section of NLEX C5 Northlink in the Philippines Until End of Year

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 29, Philippine President Marcos presided over the opening of NLEX C5 Northlink Segment 8.2 Section 1A. This 2-kilometer elevated expressway connects the Mindanao Avenue toll plaza in Valenzuela City with Quirino Highway in Quezon City, is open to all vehicle classes, and will be toll-free from now until the end of 2026.

What opened this time is the first section of the 11.3-kilometer NLEX-C5 Northlink project, not the full line. Section 1A is the first of the three subsections of Segment 8.2; the subsequent Section 1B (Quirino to Regalado, 4.1 kilometers) and Section 1C (Luzon Avenue elevated, 2.2 kilometers) are still under way. Once fully completed, Segment 8.2 will extend from Mindanao Avenue to C5/C.P. Garcia Avenue. The 2-kilometer section opened this time gives vehicles on Quirino Highway direct access to the NLEX Connector.

There are clear quantitative figures for the improvement in capacity and travel time. The section is designed for an average daily capacity of about 11,000 vehicles and operates 24 hours a day. The regular trip via surface roads previously took about 40 minutes, while the new elevated section can shorten it to about 5 minutes. This improvement corresponds to the connection efficiency for short-distance commuting and freight transport between Valenzuela and Quezon City.

The construction cost of Section 1A is 2.2 billion pesos, with NLEX Corp. signing the construction contract with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). The estimated cost of the entire NLEX-C5 Northlink project is about 24 billion pesos, adopting a public-private partnership (PPP) model, with the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) as the government grantor and NLEX Corp. (a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.) as the private concessionaire. This toll-free passage is a temporary arrangement for the initial opening period.