LIPA CITY ? Motorists here can now reach Batangas City in 15 minutes with Thursday?s opening of the 19.74-kilometer two-lane Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (Star).

Travel time has been reduced by 30 minutes, Star Tollway Corp., the highway operator, said.

Depending on the type of vehicle, tollway fee ranges from P20 for cars, jeeps and pick-up vans to P60 for trailer trucks in a single trip from Tambo interchange in Lipa to Balagtas in Batangas City.

The new road is part of the P687-billion Luzon Underway Belt Project, which seeks to connect through a 300-km network the three logistics facilities outside Metro Manila ? Subic International Container Terminal, Batangas City International Container Port, and the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport at the Clark Special Economic Zone.

The Star Tollway Project Stage 2 is being undertaken through the national government?s build-operate-transfer scheme with STC, which will expire in 2030.

On March 26, President Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated the P2.4-billion road project, which is an extension of the existing 22-km four-lane concrete stretch that links Sto. Tomas town and Lipa.