NLEX signs deal with Leighton for Candaba 3rd Viaduct

MANILA: Leighton Asia-Philippines, a member of the CIMIC Group, has been contracted by NLEX Corporation to design and build the five-kilometer third Candaba viaduct, which is projected to cost P6.1 billion.

The deal was inked by NLEX Corporation President and General Manager J. Luigi Bautista, NLEX Chief Finance Officer Maria Theresa Wells, Leighton Asia Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia General Manager Jan Torka, and Leighton Asia-Philippines Country Manager and President Enrique Chuidian Jr.

“After a thorough bidding process and evaluation, we have awarded the project to Leighton Asia. We trust their knowledge and expertise when it comes to building safe and high-quality roads and bridges, having completed a lot of our major projects, with the NLEX Harbor Link as the most recent one,” Bautista stated.

The Candaba Viaduct, a key expressway link between Pulilan, Bulacan and Apalit, Pampanga, has long served the Central and North Luzon corridor.

A new bridge will be constructed in the middle of the two existing viaducts to improve safety and mobility. The Candaba 3rd Viaduct Project, which is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of this year and last through 2024, will widen the road from three lanes without shoulder to three lanes with an inner and an outer shoulder in each direction.

“We are honored to build on our long-term partnership with NLEX Corporation, whom we have worked for over two decades, to enhance the transportation network in the Philippines. We will apply Leighton Asia’s international expertise and local experience to ensure the safe and successful delivery of this project,” Torka said.

The Candaba Viaduct's capacity and reliability is continuously being improved by NLEX Corporation through innovative engineering solutions. To further improve motorist safety, a major safety upgrade is now being developed in the southbound portion of the viaduct.

In the past years, priority bridge link slabs were upgraded, columns were fortified with steel jacketing, and lay-bys or emergency stops were established in both the northbound and southbound directions of the bridge.

NLEX Corporation is a subsidiary of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), the toll road development arm of the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC). Leighton Asia is a construction-focused business owned by the CIMIC Group.

Photo from NLEX Corporation

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