Pangilinan-led NLEX Corp. intends to raise at least P5 billion to fund its capital expenditure (capex) program for the current year, which is primarily earmarked for toll road network operations and expansion.

NLEX President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista said at a recent press chat that the company expects to spend about P12 billion this year, which is almost similar to last year’s budget.

“For this year, our capex is about P12 billion including the fund for the NLEX Connector Project. Last year, we allocated P15 billion but we were not able to consume around P3 billion of that. We will fund our capital through a combination of external sources and operational revenue,” Bautista said.

According to Bautista, the planned fundraising will be used to support its network expansion projects such as the NLEX C5 Link Segment 8.2 Sect. 1A and the NLEX Phase 3 Widening.

The NLEX C5 Link Segment 8.2 Sect. 1A is a two-kilometer section of the NLEX C5- Link from NLEX Mindanao Avenue to Quirino Highway in Novaliches. Construction will begin in the third quarter.

The entire NLEX C5-Link will connect NLEX Mindanao Toll Plaza to C5/C.P. Garcia near Katipunan Avenue, allowing access from NLEX to the eastern side of Metro Manila.

Meanwhile, NLEX Phase 3 Widening aims to establish new expressway lanes from NLEX San Fernando to SCTEX Spur in Pampanga, which includes the installation of roadway lighting and the reconfiguration of Mexico as a full diamond interchange

“(We will raise the fund,) as soon as we get approval from the Toll Regulatory Board and we are just waiting for the right-of-way to be substantially acquired,” Bautista said.

This year, NLEX Corp. is eyeing to grow vehicle traffic across its expressways by around 5 to 6 percent to 370,000 from 350,000 last year.

NLEX is a subsidiary of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the toll road arm of the Metro Pacific Investments Corp.