MANILA - The Toll Regulatory Board on Wednesday said it approved San Miguel Holdings Corporation’s (SMHC) proposed extension of the South Luzon Expressway to Gumaca, Quezon and its proposal to build an expressway along the Pasig River.

The two projects, which are joint ventures between the Philippine National Construction Corp (PNCC) and SMHC, were approved as toll roads.

The TRB said the approval paves the way for discussions on the technical, financial, and legal details of the 2 projects that will lead to the finalization of the concession agreement.

The extension of the SLEX from Lucena City to Gumaca is the first segment of a planned 420-kilometer expressway called Toll Road 5 (TR-5) going all the way to Matnog, Sorsogon.

The Lucena-Gumaca segment will span 61 kilometers and has an estimated cost of P22.6 billion, with a construction timetable of 24 months.

The Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) meanwhile will span more than 19 kilometers and aims to connect Manila with the province of Rizal via a 6-lane elevated expressway that will traverse the Pasig River.

PAREX starts from Radial Road 10 in Manila and ends at a connection to the South East Metro Manila Expressway at Circumferential Road (C6).

The project has an estimated cost of P95.4 billion with a construction timetable of 36 months.