MANILA, Philippines – The 2.2-kilometer segment of the C5 South Link spanning C5 Road in Taguig City to Merville in Parañaque City is set to open on July 23.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said that the construction of Segment 3A-1 is being fast-tracked to be able to decongest Sales Road, as well as the East and West service roads.

“Vehicular traffic spends about 1.5 hours just to cross from Villamor to Taguig via Fort Bonifacio. This section alone will help about 5,000 vehicles easily cross in 3 minutes,” Villar said.

WATCH: Here’s the Merville segment of C5 South Link Expressway with ongoing construction work pic.twitter.com/WGlkzcFCUA

— Aika Rey (@reyaika) June 20, 2019

Once the new segment is opened, Villar told reporters that they are expecting toll of about P20 to P22.

Segment 3A-1 will have two interim toll plazas for both ends of the expressway.

The C5 South Link timetable has been moved to the 4th quarter of 2021. It was initially expected to be completed by 2020.

The C5 South Link is composed of segments from C5 to Merville, then Merville to Sucat which will have an interchange, and then Sucat to the Cavite Expressway (Cavitex).

The entire 7.7-kilometer tollway stretch is expected to reduce the number of vehicles along EDSA by 50,000.

The P10-billion C5 South Link project was awarded to Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation, which operates the Cavitex. It is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, the tollways unit of the Manuel Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corporation. – Rappler.com