THE government is partnering with the private sector in pursuing the P29.14-billion Central Luzon Expressway (Clex), which will facilitate the movement of goods and services in Central Luzon, a document from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) showed.
The first phase of the proposed Clex will involve the construction of a thoroughfare that will connect Tarlac and Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija. The state has earmarked P14.94 billion for this phase.
“It will be funded through a loan, an official development assistance fund. The road will connect the Subic-Clark-Tarlac and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressways to Cabanatuan City,” Public Works Undersecretary
Rafael C. Yabut said, when asked for comment.
The first phase will be funded by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Authority. The contract for the additional 30 kilometers of road, which will be auctioned off by the end of the year, is expected to be completed by 2018.
“By mid-2015 we will start the construction of the first phase,” Yabut noted, adding that the deal has been approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board, which is chaired by President Aquino.
The second phase of the thoroughfare, meanwhile, involves the construction of another expressway that will interconnect Cabanatuan to San Jose City. It carries a P14.20-billion price tag.
Yabut explained that the second phase will be added to the pipeline of public-private partnership (PPP) projects under his agency.
“Phase II will also involve the operations and maintenance contract for the expressway. It will be auctioned off under the PPP program of the Aquino government,” the state official added.
The second phase of the proposed expressway is still being studied for feasibility. The 35.7-km road is expected to be auctioned off by the first half of next year.
The proposed Clex is part of the 386.18 km of road that the DPWH aims to construct, 170.79 km of which are currently being built.
The public works department has a number of key infrastructure deals that aim to improve the road network around the Philippines. It has so far awarded two PPP projects: the P1.96-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway bagged by Ayala Corp. in 2011; and the P15.68-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport expressway, given to San Miguel Corp. (SMC) unit Vertex Tollways Development Inc. in 2013.
The awarding of the P35.2-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway, meanwhile, is being stalled by a petition of a disqualified bidder before Malacañang. Team Orion of the Ayala Corp. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. has seen three months of delay in the awarding due to the motion for reconsideration of SMC.
The agency is also auctioning off the P122.81-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway-Dike deal, which has attracted 22 companies, to head to the prequalification stage of the bidding. The deadline for the submission of bids is scheduled on July 6 next year. A notice of award is targeted to be issued a month after.
Public Works Secretary Rogelio L. Singson said his office aims to increase infrastructure spending by 2016. He explained the government has set its sights on spending 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, totaling to as high as $18 billion by 2016, from $4 billion in 2011.
“We commit that by 2016, all national roads and bridges, estimated to measure 32,000 km, will have been paved,” he said.