Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation is the largest tollway developer and operator in the Philippines in terms of vehicular traffic volume, revenue, asset base, and combined length of expressways. It operates and maintains 230 kilometers of expressways across four major toll road systems in Luzon, namely the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX), and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX). These world-class expressways serve as growth corridors connecting most of the country’s special economic zones, including the freeports in Subic and Clark.
MPTC holds three long-term operating concessions for NLEX, SCTEX, and CAVITEX, while holding concessions for three more with CALAX, Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), and It also has foreign investments in Vietnam and Indonesia through CII B&R and PT Nusantara, respectively. In 2021, MPTC handled an average of 747,580 vehicles per day for both domestic and foreign traffic, servicing an increasing number of travelers who are encouraged to regularly journey between cities and provinces because of high-quality roads. Its tollways have become a catalyst for conurbation and changed the landscape of major regions in the country by helping to modernize towns and energize industries. It continues to develop the country’s road infrastructure, introducing new technologies in tollway communications and traffic management, connecting and integrating even more people, value chains, and markets, and ultimately serving as a driving force in the Philippine economy.
Business Highlights
Financial and Operational Highlights
- Revenues climbed 29% to P17.5 billion with improved traffic
volumes benefitting from reduced mobility restrictions and
continuing vaccine roll-out - Traffic on toll roads in the Philippines
- Average daily vehicle entries grew 24% to 483,170 from 388,820 a year earlier. This is 18% higher than the 2020 average, signifying continued improvement in economic activity despite recurring lockdowns in the third quarter
- Traffic on international toll roads
- Vietnam – Average daily vehicle entries increased 1% to 42,708 due to restricted mobility to limit the spread of COVID-19
- Indonesia – Average daily vehicle entries increased 11% to 221,702 with the opening of the A. P. Pettarani Elevated toll road in Makassar City
- Core Net Income increased 45% to P3.9 billion
Expansion and Others
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- Significant progress in expansion projects was achieved as follows:
- Construction of the 8.0-km NLEX-SLEX Connector Road is now in full swing with the first section from C3, Caloocan to España in Manila now 68% complete
- The central span of the CCLEX was joined on October 5, 2021, finally linking Cebu City and the Municipality of Cordova. Spanning 8.9 km, this P32.8-billion project will be the longest and tallest bridge in the Philippines. Construction progress is now at 92% and will be completed by the second quarter of 2022
- Aside from blazing the trail in modernizing Cebu’s infrastructure and transportation, MPTC, through its RFID system, is keeping road user safety and convenience at the forefront as it adopts an all-electronic toll collection system for the CCLEX
- The Cavite-Laguna Expressway Subsection 5, which connects Silang East to Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road Interchange, was inaugurated on August 24. This extends the expressway’s operating sections from 7.4 km to 14.6 km
- Construction activities continue on major toll projects. Target completion dates are as follows:
- In February 2021, MPTC sold its entire 29.45% indirect stake in Don Muang Public Company Ltd. in Thailand for P7.2 billion. Proceeds from this sale will be used to fund toll road expansion projects
How MPTC Creates and Delivers Value
Creating value by developing mobility infrastructure solutions
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To further improve the accessibility of our regions outside Metro Manila, MPTC continued to develop mobility infrastructure solutions that are vital in enhancing transport for Filipinos across the country. For example, MPTC built and opened 1,126.6 lane kilometers of full-operational toll-roads linking the capital to major points in the North and South of Manila, as well as key parts in Metro Cebu down south through the recently completed CCLEX. This total includes 61.4 lane kilometers in NLEX, 69 lane kilometers in CALAX, and 8.8 lane kilometers in the C5-Link which MPTC opened in the last three years.
Behind these critical programs is an extensive process involving biddings, proposals, design, development, construction, and quality controls. Throughout these processes, MPTC maximized various forms of capital to ramp up its infrastructure development projects, which include financial capital from investors, loans, etc.; construction equipment; project management systems and technologies; human capital; gravel, water, and other natural material inputs; and effective working relationships with regulators, local governments, communities, suppliers, and contractors.
As we continue to build, expand, and maintain our infrastructure, MPTC is able to boost the local economy by creating thousands of jobs for Filipinos. MPTC’s organic workforce in 2021 currently consists of 114 regular employees working under the tollways development and engineering division. To ensure the professional growth of its workforce, MPTC continuously provides training that is relevant to the employee. As a result of improved competency, 11 employees from the division were promoted in 2021.
A significant factor in MPTC’s project development success is its strict adherence to regulations and laws relevant to its projects. In 2021, MPTC had zero incidences of non-compliance with social and environmental laws, rules, and regulations. The company strengthened its relations with regulators and concession grantors, including the Department of Public Works and Highways, Toll Regulatory Board, and local government units (LGUs) for approvals of projects, tariffs, and other critical aspects of the project. It also coordinated with LGUs and communities for no-objection requirements.
Enabling efficient mobility through toll road operations
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Given its crucial role in the country’s economic recovery, MPTC reinforced its toll road operation to support economic activities and enhance Filipinos’ mobility through the pandemic. In 2021, MPTC provided safe, efficient, and convenient road travel to 272.9 million motorists through speedy and efficient toll road services.
MPTC allotted P12.8 billion as operating capital to strengthen its operation and maintenance. This yielded toll revenues worth P16 billion. Currently, the company is operating a total of 232.9 km in toll road infrastructure or an equivalent of 1,126.6 lane-kilometers. Complementing road networks are systems and technologies that enable efficient toll and traffic management, highway security, and emergency and incident management. All these contribute to MPTC’s high-quality service and operations.
The efficiency of MPTC’s toll road operation depends primarily on the customer service provided by its employees. Therefore, MPTC dedicated numerous training hours to boost the competency of its workforce. Aside from opportunities for professional development, MPTC provided a healthy working environment for employees, which led to a 96% employee engagement score.
As it maintains excellence in customer service, MPTC also nurtures its working relations with stockholders, motorists, the Department of Transportation (DOTR), and other partners. MPTC complied with all laws, rules, and regulations related to the operation of its tollways as mandated by DOTR and other government agencies. It engaged with 196 barangays and 46 LGUs for various community engagement and investment projects in 2021. These partnerships led to improvements in the company’s brand, social media engagement rate, and participation rate in workshops and seminars.
Toll road operation also relies on large amounts of natural resources, which impact on the sustainability of its operations. MPTC endeavored to effectively manage the consumption of these natural resources. In 2021, it consumed at 14,156,558 kWH of electricity while stationary fuel consumption was 5,553 GJ. It limited its vehicle fuel consumption to 33,567 GJ and water withdrawal to 127 ML. Moreover, MPTC planted trees and shrubs on 100,368 square meters of land along its expressways.
