THE Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) is seen to charge P187.54 or a toll rate of P2 per kilometer for motorists’ use of the entire stretch of the 93.77-km Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx).

The highway is divided into the 50.5-km-long Subic-Clark section and the 43.27-km-long Clark-Tarlac section. To date, only the Subic-Clark section is open to vehicles.

TRB executive director Manuel Imperial told the National Economic and Development Authority in a letter dated March 28, 2008, that the P2-per-kilometer toll rate is the initial authorized rate for the new expressway.

Imperial explained that this was agreed upon by the board after the assessment of the project interest rate; project cost, which was pegged at P20.061 billion as of December 21, 2007; and the rate of return which stood at 11.07 percent.

“The rate of P2 per kilometer initially determined by the TRB is lower than the authorized rate of P2.40 per kilometer provided under the terms of agreement [for the project],” Imperial said in the letter.

With this, Imperial asked the Neda to review the toll rate by conducting a “socioeconomic input analysis” for the rates to be implemented at the SCTEx.

Earlier, Neda acting director general Augusto Santos said the government will be creating an economic zone in the surrounding areas of the SCTEx to spur economic activity in these parts.

Santos told reporters the government is willing to spend around $2.5 million for an economic masterplan that would become a 20-year blueprint for the SCTEx corridor.

Once the ecozone in the SCTEx area is completed, it is estimated to generate as much as P400 billion worth of investments. Santos said this rough estimate already includes possible infrastructure, utilities, residential, commercial, and even industrial investments that the area will be attracting.

Santos said commissioning the master plan may be financed through government funds. The government will also seek the consultancy services of foreign experts which may be provided by a technical assistance from donor agencies like the Asian Development Bank, World Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

The President recently inaugurated the Subic-Clark portion of the SCTEx. The area is now open to light vehicles, chartered buses and motorcycles from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., free of toll charge.

The construction of both sections are done by the Kajima-Obayashi-JFE Engineering-Mitsubishi Joint Venture and the Hazama-Taisei-Nippon Steel Joint Venture.

The project also involves the construction of four major bridges; eight interchanges; 29 minor bridges; 44 underpasses; 303 drainage culverts; toll operation center; and toll plazas.

FRAUD and the lack of expertise of state-run Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor) to collect payments under the multibillion-peso swine program led to the current mess that the program is in, industry sources said.

JUST fresh from approving four proposals for the envisioned $10-billion Bagong Nayong Pilipino-Manila Bay Integrated City, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) announced that it is now shopping around for another site that will house the second phase of the project.

Government agencies, particularly those tasked to ensure the country’s food security, should be given three-year budgets, if only to ensure the continuity of its programs, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

PRESIDENT Arroyo will lead the inauguration of the P112.9-million expanded passenger terminal of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) at the Clark Freeport Zone today, Friday.

HOPING to avert a disruption in power supply in Luzon, state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) has urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to immediately establish a task force that will assess and make recommendations in response to the impending maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya natural-gas pipeline.

THE Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) is seen to charge P187.54 or a toll rate of P2 per kilometer for motorists’ use of the entire stretch of the 93.77-km Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx).