Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., DM Consunji sign contract for construction of Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) pic.twitter.com/erQAs0NSWf

— Jacque Manabat (@jacquemanabat) March 10, 2017

MANILA - A unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. and DM Consunji Inc. on Friday signed the contract for the construction of the Laguna segment of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway.

The 45-kilometer road project contract involves financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance under the public-private partnership program of the government.

The four-lane toll road will have eight interchanges and one barrier, connecting the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) and the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).

The road project will start in Cavitex in Kawit, Cavite and end at the SLEX-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.

The Cavite-Laguna Expressway will have interchanges in nine locations: Kawit, Daang Hari, Governor's Drive, Aguinaldo Highway, Silang, Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay, Laguna Blvd., Technopark, and a toll barrier before SLEX.

Once completed, travel through Cavite-Laguna Expressway will take only about 45 minutes from Kawit, Cavite to Biñan, Laguna.

The construction of the P35.43 billion project will start by April 2017, MPCALA Holdings president and chief executive Luigi Bautista said.

"We plan to break ground next month, three months ahead of schedule. By the end of 2020, when we inaugurate the expressway, CALAX will be the most modern expressway in the country," he said.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar assured the private sector that government will expedite issues on right-of-way.