New Pangasinan expressway seen to boost economy, tourism

VITAL INFRA Pangasinan Gov. Ramon Guico III (second from the left) and San Miguel Corp. president and CEO Ramon S. Ang (second from the right) unveil the marker for the P34-billion Pangasinan Link Expressway on Thursday. They are joined by Vice Gov. Mark Lambino (left) and Pangasinan Rep. Ramon Guico Jr. —PHOTO COURTESY OF PANGASINAN PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE

LAOAC, PANGASINAN — By easing travel within and beyond Pangasinan, the planned 42.76-kilometer expressway linking the eastern and western sides of the province is expected to boost local economy and tourism, officials said on Thursday.

About 3 km of the P34-billion Pangasinan Link Expressway (PLEx) have already undergone backfilling to form part of the four-lane expressway that starts from Binalonan town to the capital Lingayen. The project is expected to be finished in four years.

Gov. Ramon Guico III, during the groundbreaking ceremony, said programs of the provincial government would be anchored on PLEx, a project bankrolled by San Miguel Corp. (SMC).

The public-private partnership initiative is seen to change Pangasinan’s inland connectivity to facilitate faster movement of people, commodities, and services. It will also connect to Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx), providing direct access to the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan province.

READ: TPLEx Extension project on track, says PPP Center

“[This expressway] will serve as the backbone of economic and tourism development in the province,” Guico said in a speech as he and SMC president and chief executive officer Ramon S. Ang graced the unveiling of the marker for the road project.

‘Game changer’

“The PLEx will be a game changer for Pangasinan. It will open many doors for other towns for business, jobs, and ease of travel inside and outside Pangasinan,” the governor said.

He said housing projects, hospitals, and businesses would be built around PLEx.

For Ang, the “monumental project” between SMC and the Pangasinan government will “drive economic development in the province.”

“This project is part of our commitment to improve the lives of our ‘kababayan’ by bringing jobs and opening up economic development opportunities at no cost to the government,” he said.

“The PLEx project affirms SMC’s affinity with, and deep commitment to Pangasinan. We believe in the bigger potential of the province and its people, and that is why we continue to invest here,” Ang said.

The P34.34-billion first phase of the project runs for 42.67 km and is divided into three segments. These include the 6.9-km Binalonan-Manaoag section, 11.3-km Manaoag-Calasiao junction, and the 22.17-km Calasiao-Lingayen segment. A 2.39-km spur road will also be paved in Calasiao.

The Binalonan-Lingayen link is designed to reduce travel time between these towns to 30 minutes from about two hours.

Ang said the project’s second phase would extend the expressway to Alaminos City, home of the Hundred Islands National Park.

PLEx is a joint venture and tollway concession agreement between the Pangasinan government and SMC that was officially sealed on Oct. 19 last year. In 35 years, PLEx’s ownership will be turned over to the provincial government.

Prior to this, SMC inked a pact with the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. to design, build, and operate the 88-km Cavite-Batangas Expressway and Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway.

The P72-billion project will traverse Silang, Amadeo, Tagaytay, Indang, Mendez, and Alfonso towns in Cavite and will link motorists to Nasugbu and Bauan towns in Batangas. —WITH A REPORT FROM TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD