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CLARK
FREE PORT—To make for a greener and more scenic view for
motorists, the Bases Conversion and Development
Authority (BCDA) and the environmental group Clean and
Green Foundation Inc. will plant 40,000 trees along the
Subic Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) before year-end.
Trifonio
Salazar, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway Project (SCTEP)
program manager for administrative support, said the
planting will immediately be undertaken at Package 2, or
the Clark to Tarlac stretch, of the 93.77-kilometer
expressway.
“We will
be planting 40,000 indigenous and endemic
trees—naturally and locally grown—along the SCTEx. This
will make it a more scenic infrastructure for motorists
and the traveling public,” Salazar said.
The
SCTEx connects the three economic zones of
Central Luzon:
the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) in Zambales,
the Clark Free Port Zone in Pampanga, and the Central
Techno Park in Tarlac.
A
cluster of 1,000 trees will be planted every five
kilometers on both sides of the four-lane highway.
Twenty-one varieties of local trees like narra, molave
and mahogany will be planted along the roadway.
On
September 11, 2007, former First Lady Ming Ramos, head
of the Clean and Green Foundation Inc., visited the BCDA
and expressed interest in planting trees along the
expressway.
The
tree-planting project is part of the “Trees for Life”
program of the foundation calling on both private and
government corporations to help in the greening efforts
in the country.
Under
the project agreement, the Clean and Green Foundation
will nurture the trees for two years and then turn them
over to BCDA.
Salazar
said the greening of the SCTEx will eventually give rise
to a “tree museum” showcasing local trees with
billboards posted along the highway containing
information about a certain species.
He said
the tree-planting project conforms to the engineering
design of the highway and the safety standards of the
Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), which makes sure the trees
do not pose a danger to motorists and will not adversely
affect Transco power transmission lines. |
