Clark-Tarlac section of C. Luzon expressway now open to vehicular traffic

CLARK FREE PORT, Philippines — The 32-kilometer Clark-Tarlac segment of an expressway that cuts through Central Luzon formally opens Friday. Narciso Abaya, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and chief executive officer, announced Thursday during the pre-opening ceremony the full commercial operations of the whole Subic-Clark-Tarlac-Expressway (SCTEx) project. BCDA manages former base lands that have been converted into commercial use. Subic and Clark were the former largest naval and air bases outside the United States before American troops and facilities vacated the bases in 1991. SCTEx was funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and built by Japanese contractors Kajima-Obayashi-JFE-Mitsubishi and Hazama-Taisei-Nippon. The BCDA has completed overpasses and farm crossings in Tarlac so that the project will not have an adverse effect on the livelihood of affected communities, Mr. Abaya said. Following the pre-opening ceremony, the BCDA launched its "Greening SCTEx Program" which seeks to plant 20,000 trees along the toll road in five years. Some 2,000 narra trees were planted along Clark North B Interchange in Barangay Dolores, Mabalacat, Pampanga province during the kickoff ceremony. Around 500 volunteers from the BCDA, Clark Development Corp., Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Armed Forces, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and nongovernmental groups participated in the activity. On April 28, the BCDA opened for commercial operations 62 kilometers (km) of the SCTEx that includes the entire 50.5-km Subic-Clark segment and 11.5 km of the 43.27-km Clark-Tarlac segment. Class 1 vehicles entering the SCTEx from the Clark Logistics Plaza will pay P32 if they exit to Concepcion, P60 to San Miguel and P69 to Tarlac City. Class 1 vehicles traveling the entire 94-km stretch from Subic to Tarlac will pay the maximum fee of P181; Subic Bay-San Miguel, P172; and Subic-Concepcion, P144. — Rey Garcia, BusinessWorld