Tarlac-P’sinan road to cut travel time to Baguio

The state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), in collaboration with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and its private sector partner, is poised to provide the virtual “missing link” that will not only dramatically cut down travel time between Metro Manila and Baguio City, but will make the journey more comfortable and enjoyable.

            The link will come in the form of a 700-meter road connecting the existing Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) terminus in La Paz, Tarlac to the forthcoming Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).

            A memorandum of agreement on the construction of the envisioned connector road has been signed by the BCDA, the DPWH and the Private Infra Development Corp.  (PIDC), signaling the launch of the road project under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

            BCDA chair FelicitoPayumo thanked DPWH Secretary Rogelio L. Singson for agreeing to fund and implement the construction of the connector road. He said the PPP scheme which is being championed by the Aquino administration as a linchpin of national economic development, takes off from the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model as adopted by the country through the BOT law which Payumo authored while still a congressman representing Bataan.

            Through PPP, Payumo stressed that vital infrastructure projects like the TPLEX of the DPWH are constructed at no cost for the government, with the private partners bankrolling the project implementation with the attendant commercial risks.

            For his part, BCDA President and CEO ArnelPaciano D. Casanova said that the seamless connection between the SCTEX and TPLEX will favor no less than the motorists  who will be traveling from Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Northern Luzon.

            “At the end of the day, the connector road and the resulting seamless travel from SCTEX to TPLEX provides the motoring public the best service government has to offer,” Casanova said.

            The connector road project is an initiative of the BCDA and the DPWH representing the national government, and will be constructed by PIDC which is a consortium of locally-owned contractors.

Incidentally, the PIDC is also undertaking construction of the 88.58-km    TPLEX that will run northward from La Paz to Rosario, La Union, traversing a handful of Tarlac and Pangasinan towns.

            Partial opening of its section up to Gerona, Tarlac is expected to be completed before the end of this year.

            The existing SCTEX is a 93.77-km expressway that traverses Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac provinces.

            It began commercial operations on April 28, 2008 with the opening of Subic-Clark Segment and Zone A of the portion of Clark-Tarlac Segment. The opening of Zones B and C of the remaining Clark-Tarlac Segment on July 25, 2008 signaled the full operation of SCTEX.

Currently, SCTEX has an estimated daily traffic of more than 25,000 vehicles.