MPT South Plans To Turn CALAX Into A ‘Green Highway’

Metro Pacific Tollways South Management Corporation (MPT South) has plans to turn the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) into a green highway.

The tollway operator is currently piloting a biodiversity program for CALAX in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Sustainable Interventions for Biodiversity, Oceans, and Landscapes (SIBOL), a natural resources management and biodiversity conservation project.

CALAX is a 45-kilometer high-speed road network connecting the two provinces of Cavite and Laguna, aiming to accommodate 45,000 motorists once completed.

“We are grateful to USAID SIBOL for allowing us to tap into their pool of knowledge as we turn CALAX into a green highway, ” MPT South President and General Manager Roberto V. Bontia said.

The collaboration between MPT South and USAID SIBOL aligns with the latter’s goal of improving biodiversity conservation by establishing voluntary industry standards and replicating the rewilding model.

“Protecting the environment, and natural resources, and ensuring their capacities to sustain life for generations to come should be a collective effort,” USAID SIBOL Chief of Party Dr. Ernesto Guiang said.

“Environmental issues such as climate change and habitat loss affect businesses, livelihoods, communities, and ordinary people. That is why we are grateful for this partnership with MPTC,” Guiang added.

MPT South’s ultimate goal is to showcase its parent firm Metro Pacific Tollway’s Corporation (MPTC), and its role in decarbonizing the transport sector by converting its expressways into more sustainable highways.

MPTC Chief Finance Officer and Senior Executive Sponsor for Sustainability Christopher C. Lizo said the project could set a standard for future infrastructure development in the country.

The CALAX project will start the integration of the expressway with resource-saving and emission-reduction technologies.

Currently. the toll plazas of CALAX are also equipped with solar panels and installed LED fixtures on the road for better energy efficiency.

Moreover, MPT South’s headquarters, MPT South HUB in Imus, Cavite,  is a registered building with a certification goal of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold.

LEED is the most widely used green building rating system in the world.

Source: Manila Bulletin