South Luzon Expressway
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The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) also called South Super Highway is the main artery that connects Metro Manila with the southern Luzon provinces in the Philippines. The highway is operated by the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC) starts in Manila's Paco district and ends in Calamba City in the province of Laguna, some fifty kilometers south of Manila. Southwards, the SLEX passes through the following cities and municipalities: Manila, Makati, Pasay, Taguig, Parañaque and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila; San Pedro, Biñan, Santa Rosa, Cabuyao and Calamba City in Laguna; and Carmona in Cavite.
Over the years, the areas surrounding the South Luzon Expressway, particularly southern Metro Manila and those areas within Laguna province, have seen massive industrialization and urbanization, especially with the influx of local and foreign investment into the area and the migration of Filipinos from different parts of the Philippines. Such development caused heavy traffic to pour into the SLEX, causing massive traffic jams in parts of the expressway, especially during Mondays, Fridays and the morning and evening rush hour.
To decongest traffic at the SLEX, the Philippine government entered a build-operate-transfer scheme agreement with Indonesian construction firm Citra for the rehabilitation of parts of the expressway and the construction of the Metro Manila Skyway, an elevated North-South tollway that will pass over the South Luzon Expressway, some areas of Metro Manila and eventually into the North Luzon Expressway, which aims to decongest traffic in many areas of Metro Manila. There are also calls for the extension of the South Luzon Expressway from Calamba City in Laguna up to the International Port in Batangas City in the province of Batangas and from Calamba City up to Lucena City in Quezon province.