MANILA - Metro Pacific Investment Corp. said its sister firm will start the construction road project that links North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) to the congested ports in Manila after the company has been given the go-signal to operate a port beginning January.

Metro Pacific president and chief executive officer Jose Maria K. Lim said the P10-billion road link called Segment 9 and Segment 10, will be vital to its operation of the Manila North Harbor, the country’s largest domestic port.

Lim said they already have the funds to start the construction, but they are still waiting to settle the right-of-way issues with the residents and obtain several government approvals. The construction will be carried out by Metro Pacific sister firm Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC), the operator of Nlex.

“We can do [the construction] right away but it all depends how the fast government will [settle] the right-of-way [issues]. But we have already the budget for the right of way. Hopefully it will not be too long; hopefully, we can start next year,” Lim said.

The said link is vital to the operation of the North Harbor as the trucks will be allowed to move in and out of the port even during the day and rush hours but only if they will use the said links either going to the Nlex or going to the South Luzon Expressway.

Based on the plan, trucks will be spared from the voluntary vehicular reduction program (more commonly known as number-coding scheme) as segments 9 and 10 of the expressway project have a dedicated lane for cargo trucks to facilitate transit time, thus resulting in better turnaround time for the port.

Segment 9 is a 3.85-kilometer (km), six-lane expressway linking Nlex to MacArthur Highway and Segment 10 is a 5.85-km, four-lane expressway linking MacArthur Highway to Letre in Malabon. At the moment, the C-3 Road stops in Caloocan City, the road supposedly should lead to port area but there are thousands of informal settlers still living in the area.

MNTC is building its links to Nlex along the C-5 ( short for Circumferential Road 5) to decongest the traditional entry and exit points in Balintawak.

Metro Pacific, on the other hand, will be operating the Manila North Harbor with joint venture partner Habour Centre Port Terminals Inc. starting January. This, after Philippine Port Authority (PPA) on Thursday formally awarded the contract to the said companies.

The said port will be operated by Manila North Harbour Port Inc., which is currently 60% owned by the Romero group’s Harbour Centre, and the rest by Metro Pacific.

Lim said that initially the group has poured in about P1.8 billion into that joint-venture firm and billions more are expected in the next years. Total contract price of the port modernization is placed at P14.5 billion for the next 25 years.

In the first 3 years, the new North Harbor operator is expected to handle 1 million-twenty foot equivalent units (TEU) from only 800 TEUs annually from the domestic trade. It will be able to handle about 2.5 million passengers annually or more than half of its current capacity.

Based on the assumptions, the joint venture is expecting to post break-even only after the three-year period as they are not allowed to alter the existing rates implemented by PPA.

North Harbor, the country’s premier services the Metro Manila area and nearby provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, and Nueva Vizcaya, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon. It can accommodate all types of interisland vessels and has 6 main piers cater to coastwise cargo and passenger ships.

PPA has been trying to privatize the operation of the port for decades.