Two major infrastructure firms — the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) — are joining forces to develop the 72-kilometer Cavite-Batangas Expressway (CBEX), aiming to improve travel in Southern Luzon.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., MPTC’s parent company, said the partners have already reached an agreement on the project’s route.

“They already talked and the alignment has been agreed and that is my impression. I am not directly in touch yet with the project. But my impression is the principals of the partnership have agreed, the alignment has been agreed. So, we should start working soon,” Pangilinan disclosed in a recent interview.

In August 2023, MPTC and SMC signed a memorandum of agreement formalizing their joint bid to design, build, and operate the CBEX, along with the 60.90-kilometer Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway.

The CBEX will pass through Silang, Amadeo, Tagaytay, Indang, Mendez, and Alfonso in Cavite before extending into Nasugbu and reaching Bauan in Batangas province. The groundbreaking ceremony for the CBEX was initially planned for last year but did not take place.

MPTC had previously submitted a proposal in 2018 for the 50.4-kilometer Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway project to the Department of Public Works and Highways, which granted the company original proponent status.

Meanwhile, SMC obtained approvals from the Cavite and Batangas provincial governments for its unsolicited proposals for both the CBEX and the Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway.