Infrastructure company Metro Pacific Investments’ (MPIC) tollways arm has allocated PHP11.5bn ($261m) for its capital expenditures to complete major toll roads projects in Philippines.

Metro Pacific Tollways (MPTC) president Ramoncito Fernandez told the Philippine Star that the 2015 budget would be allocated to expand the 86.7km North Luzon expressway (NLEX), as well as its integration with the 94-km Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressway (SCTEX).

The latest budget is said to account for almost a quarter of the company’s PHP50bn ($1.1bn) capital expenditures.

"The latest budget is said to account for almost a quarter of the company’s PHP50bn ($1.1bn) capital expenditures."

The NLEX expansion, which will see investments of between PHP4bn ($91m) and PHP5bn ($113m), comprise the construction of an additional lane for the northbound road, as well as the southbound direction from Sta. Rita to San Fernando.

Manila North Tollways (MNTC) operates NLEX and SCTEX and MPTC holds 71% stake in it.

The company also owns 100% of Cavitex Infrastructure that operates the 14km Cavitex, 46% of Tollways Management (TMC) and 29.45% of Don Muang Tollway Public (DMT) in Thailand through FPM Infrastructure.

For NLEX and SCTEX integration, MPTC also proposes to spend PHP650m ($15m).

In February, MNTC hopes to acquire SCTEX, after no bidders showed up during Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA)’s Price Challenge.

The capital expenditures for 2015 will also see the completion of PHP1.59bn ($36m) Segment 9, which links NLEX to the MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela City and the PHP10bn ($227m) Segment 10 or the NLEX Harbor Link linking to Manila’s Port Area district.