THE tollway unit of San Miguel Corp. saw its net income in the first quarter of the year rise by 36 percent from a year ago on the back of higher vehicle traffic.

SMC SLEX Inc. posted a profit of P964 million in the January to March period, up from P706 million in the same period last year.

Toll revenue amounted to P1.68 billion, an increase of 13 percent from P1.48 billion in 2022.

SMC SLEX achieved an average daily traffic (ADT) of 352,185, almost the same level from the 2022 ADT of 351,732. The average transaction mode for the period was 78 percent RFID and 22 percent for cash.

Operating expenses decreased by 8 percent to P86.4 million from P94 million last year.

SMC SLEX has allocated P7.4 billion for capital expenditures (capex) this year to partially finance the construction of an expressway from Batangas to Lucena and for the repair and maintenance of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx).

The company said P6.77 billion would be used to finance the TR4 Project and SLEx widening project.

SMC SLEX in March 2019 started construction of the 66.74-kilometer SLEx Toll Road 4 that would connect Santo Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City, Quezon.

The toll road will shorten the travel time from Santo Tomas, Batangas to Barangay Mayao in Lucena City from the usual three hours to just 45 minutes.

The P26.1-billion project is expected to be completed by 2026. TR4 is a part of SLTC’s 30-year concession that will last until 2036.

The toll road will be divided into six sections, including Santo Tomas, Batangas to Makban in Laguna (11.32 km); Makban to San Pablo City (12.75 km); San Pablo to Tiaong in Quezon (7.5 km); Tiaong to Candelaria (15 km); Candelaria to Tayabas (10.21 km); and Tayabas to Lucena (9.96 km).

SMC SLEX also allocated P102.4 million for road and facilities repair, and P582 million for equipment acquisition for the toll collection system.

A total of P1.26 billion has been spent to date on the undertaking for periodic repair and restoration activities.