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CLARK
FREEPORT—President Arroyo led an inspection Monday of
the site for the planned P417-million Clark-South
Interchange, a vital link to the Diosdado Macapagal
International Airport (DMIA) and this free port from the
P27.2-billion Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx).
Robert
Gervacio, SCTEx project manager and spokesman, said the
construction of the P417-million Clark South
Interchange, expected to start this month, will bring to
11 the total number of interchanges along the 94-km
expressway.
The
Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has
planned two interchanges—the Clark South Interchange and
the Panday Pira Interchange, which will lead to the Expo
Filipino. The
Clark interchange
will be built by Japanese construction firm NTN Joint
Management Group.
The
interchange is being fast-tracked because President
Arroyo is expected to inaugurate the SCTEx on April 28.
Local
government officials have lauded the construction of the
interchange, saying it is a vital link to the logistics
hubs of Clark and Subic. “This is a welcome development
area because it will maximize the development of the
DMIA, the Clark Free-port Zone and the nearby
communities like Mabalacat,” said Mabalacat Mayor Marino
Morales, who together with Pampanga local officials led
by Rep. Carmelo Lazatin welcomed President Arroyo.
Morales
said there are currently two interchanges linking
Mabalacat to the SCTEx, the Dolores and Mabiga
Interchanges. With the construction of the Clark South
Interchange and the Panday Pira Interchange, Mabalacat
will have more entry points to the Clark Free Port, he
said.
“We
expect Mabalacat [to be] very progressive and many will
have jobs and livelihood,” said Morales.
Frankie
Villanueva, former Clark Investors and Locators
Association president, praised President Arroyo’s
political will to have the interchanges funded
immediately “because these are vital elements in linking
the two ports.”
The
SCTEx is seen playing an important role in the
development of the logistics and services hub in the
Subic-Clark Corridor, with
Subic as site of a deep-sea port and
Clark as
site of an international airport.
“The
SCTEx is the shortest, most direct and most efficient
link connecting the Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales, the
Clark Free-port Zone in Pampanga and the Central Techno
Park in Tarlac. It is expected to drive the economic
development of
Central Luzon, serving as the backbone that would create wider
opportunities for investment, trade, employment and
tourism,” said Gervacio.
The
SCTEx is expected to drastically cut intercity travel
time between the hubs of Subic, Clark and Tarlac to an
astounding 65 minutes, a huge improvement from the
three-hour drive that used to be the standard.
This
fact that will not only reduce transportation time but
also help cut the cost of doing business in the region,
according to Gervacio.
Besides
providing a direct link between Subic, Clark and Tarlac,
the SCTEx, the country’s longest expressway, is also
strategically linked to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX)
via a two-kilometer spur road between the Dau and Sta.
Ines exits of the Nlex. |
