The public works department on Tuesday said it will open the first section of phase 2 of the NAIA Expressway project on Friday, September 22.

The elevated expressway will connect Macapagal Avenue and Pagcor Entertainment City in Pasay City to NAIA Terminals 1 and 2 in Paranaque City and “effectively improve traffic flow in the area and will cut travel time by at least 60 percent,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.

“We are determined to finish the second section which would connect NAIA Terminals 1, 2, and 3 to the South Luzon Expressway before Christmas season. We will maintain the 24/7 operations in this project,” he added.

Villar said the toll in the NAIA Expressway project is estimated between P34 and P45.

The P20.45-billion NAIA Expressway Project, which began during the Aquino administration, is a four-lane, 12.65-kilometer elevated expressway and 2.22-kilometer at-grade road covering Sales Avenue, Andrews Avenue, Paranaque River, MIAA Road and Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard.

When all phases are completed, the NAIA Expressway Project is expected to provide easy access to and from NAIA Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4. .

“Passenger traffic at NAIA has an average annual growth rate of 9.5 percent. The cost of congestion per day in Metro Manila is P2.4 billion. We are keen in ensuring that the chronic traffic congestion at the vicinity of the airport is solved almost immediately,” he said.

NAIA Expressway will cut average travel time between Skyway/SLEx and NAIA Terminal 1 from about 24.3 minutes to 8.2 minutes and will help 80,000 travelers a day. DMS