The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Tuesday opened the 5.14-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) subsection 5 in the province of Cavite, which will cater to some 5,000 motorists everyday.

DPWH Secretary Mark Villar led the ceremonial opening of the project’s subsection 5 from Silang East Interchange to Sta Rosa-Tagaytay Interchange.

“The opening of subsection 5 will be able to cater to around 5,000 motorists daily, adding to the roughly 10,000 users of the already opened CALAX subsections 6, 7, and 8 from Sta. Rosa to Mamplasan,” he said in a statement.

Though the pandemic has slowed down and disrupted the implementation of the project, Villar said CALAX subsection 5 was completed and “will be now opened to public use.”

Villar said the ongoing construction of other subsections are also being fast-tracked by concessionaire MPCALA Holdings to be able to fully open the entire 45-km CALAX connecting CAVITEX in Kawit, Cavite and South Luzon Expressway-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.

Once completed, the PHP35.68 B project will significantly reduce travel time between CAVITEX and SLEX to only 45 minutes.

It will also decongest Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road and will support national development policy and provide efficient transport facilities for the economic zones in Cavite and Laguna.

“More than providing efficient transportation links, the CALAX project under a public-private partnership arrangement with the MPCALA Holdings – a unit of the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, will help hasten economic recovery by providing jobs and promote the Calabarzon as a preferred destination for investment and growth,” Villar said.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Senator Bong Go, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, and Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. President and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco attended the opening of the project that is part of the government’s Build, Build, Build program. (PNA)