SCTEx tops Arroyo’s completed legacy projects

Over 40 priority infrastructure projects worth P88.48 billion have been completed as of the end of September, Malacañang said.

Presidential management staff director-general Hermogenes C. Esperon Jr. said in a report that these infrastructure projects are among the 154 priority projects committed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her State of the Nation Address.

Among the big-ticket items that have been completed are the P21-billion Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway in Zambales, Tarlac; the P8-billion Subic Bay Port Development Project at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Olongapo City; the P8.7-billion New Iloilo Airport Development Project; the P7.4-billion Casecnan Multi-Purpose Irrigation and Power Project project in Nueva Ecija; the P2.5-billion Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) 2, which connects Lipa City to Batangas City; and the P199.5-million Edsa Rehabilitation Project.

The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), biggest and most ambitious project to date, is a major infrastructure which is envisioned to serve as a backbone of development in the Central Luzon region.

Known as the country’s longest expressway, it is envisioned to transform the area into a super region that would attract investors worldwide through the integration of all economic activities in the Subic Freeport and Special Economic Zone and the Clark Special Economic Zone, and the Central Techno Park in Tarlac.

The 93.77-kilometer, four-lane divided highway is divided into two major sections. The first section, the Subic-Clark section, is 50.5 kilometers long; the Clark-Tarlac section measures 43.27 kilometers long.

The construction for Package 1 and Package 2 were undertaken by the Kajima-Obayashi-JFE Engineering-Mitsubishi (KOJM) Joint Venture and the Hazama-Taisei-Nippon Steel (HTN) Joint Venture, respectively.

The project involves the detailed design, right-of-way acquisition, construction as well as the operation and maintenance of 93.7 kilometers (inclusive of spur roads) of asphalt concrete pavement (ACP) expressway on mostly lahar embankments. SCTEx is divided into two sections, namely the Subic-Clark section (Package 1) and the Clark-Tarlac section (Package 2).

It entails the construction of four major bridges; 11 interchanges; 29 minor bridges; 44 underpasses; 303 drainage culverts; toll operation center and toll plazas.

An Interim Service Provider (ISP) was tapped to handle operations and maintenance for at least six months. On December 20, 2007, the contract for the ISP was signed between the BCDA and the consortium of First Philippine Holdings Corporation, Egis Road Operation, and Tollways Management Corporation. The conglomerate will be the ISP of SCTEx.

The terms of the contract for operation and maintenance will be for a period of six months, renewable for a maximum of another six months. The services include functional requirements for the efficient operation of the toll road, such as toll road collection, traffic safety and security management, toll road maintenance, including greenery and landscaping, management services, and all necessary support services.

The project itself has generated more than 3,400 jobs at its peak level. These include but are not limited to site workers, heavy equipment operators, engineers, SCTEx-PMO staff and other construction-related professions.