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THE BIRTH OF A NEW CITY-IN-THE-MAKING
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Sunday, December 4, 2022 Vol. 18 No. 53
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 12 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
CALAX opens way for Silang, Cavite’s cityhood By Roderick L. Abad
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Contributor
MPT SOUTH MANAGEMENT CORP.
NGOING infrastructure developments have constantly brought changes and paved the way for economic progress in the country, particularly in rural areas where public works and highways are highly needed to help fast track recovery from the ensuing health crisis.
Silang, Cavite Mayor Kevin Anarna during recent media interview at his newly built Municipal Office in Barangay Biga. MPT SOUTH MANAGEMENT CORP.
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With the imminent postCovid era amid the improving pandemic situation nationwide at present, big-ticket initiatives like the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) are pivotal to continuously transform and drive the growth of its covered localities and nearby places given the relaxed mobility restrictions and resumption of trade and commerce after more than two years that most parts, if not the entire Philippines, have been locked down. This P35.7-billion expressway is a public-private partnership (PPP) project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and MPCALA Holdings Inc. (MHI), a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), the toll road development arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). Forming part of the “Build, Build, Build” program of the previous administration, this 45-kilometer controlled-access tollway has been partially operational since July 2019.
SILANG (Aguinaldo) Interchange
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“The opening of CALAX has been a big help to us,” Silang, Cavite Mayor Kevin Anarna told reporters in mixed Filipino and English during an interview at his office in their newly built Municipal Hall in Barangay Biga on Wednesday, November 23, 2022. Among the benefits their firstclass municipality has gained from it are efficient transport facilities,
traffic decongestion, and increased competitiveness, which are very crucial for its continued development and cityhood by 2025, according to him.
Reduced traffic congestion
THOUSANDS of motorists going to and from south of Luzon via CALAX daily experience a consistently smooth commute, with
more standing to benefit once the soon-to-open Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange becomes operational. This fifth of the eight segments of the tolled highway spans 3.9 km, with a 2x2-lane expressway from Silang East Interchange to Aguinaldo Highway in Cavite. Upon completion, this will serve more motorists, including the 298,000 Silangeños, given the reduced traffic situation. Current average daily traffic is 33,000 from Mamplasan to Silang Ease interchange. This is expected to increase to 40,000 when the Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange finally opens, thus, easing the usual bottleneck along the 41-km Aguinaldo Highway—the busiest main thoroughfare in Cavite—not to mention Governor’s Drive and Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road. With construction works now under way, the local chief executive admitted that traffic in their area is heavy, especially on weekends. “As of now, we don’t allow sixwheeler trucks that make our town as a pass road going to Tagaytay, Amadeo or Alfonso,” he said, while specifically citing the communities of Maguyam, Kaong and Tibig as shortcut routes. “Due to different constructions, we closed them for the meantime for six-wheeler trucks and up to help lessen the volume of traffic.” Hopeful of its rapid completion, Anarna sees that the interchange will ease the traffic, thereby encouraging more people not only to pass by their municipality to neighboring towns and cities, but also to visit and see its natural wonders, tourist spots and other attractions.
Fast transport of goods
SPANNING at 15,641 hectares, Silang is Cavite’s second largest locality. With more than half or 60 percent of its land area being arable, its economy still depends on agriculture. Among its local produce, coffee remains to be a top agricultural product—thanks largely to its elevation of more than 1,000 feet Continued on A2
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Source: BSP (December 2, 2022)
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