Big-ticket projects for northern, central Luzon

PRESIDENT Aquino, in his 2014 State of the Nation Address (Sona), promised the completion of big-ticket infrastructure items that he hoped would spur further development in central and northern Luzon.

Among these are the completion of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway’s (TPLEx) section from Urdaneta City to Rosario, La Union province; the Angat Dam rehabilitation; the Laoag City Bypass Link Road project; and a new development hub in central Luzon called the Clark Green City (CGC).

These projects have moved forward, with some nearing completion. The completion of TPLEx, however, would miss the deadline promised by the President last year.

Clark Green City

The initial segments of two access roads in Phase 1 (1,321 hectares) of CGC in Capas, Tarlac province, are being built to connect the area to the Clark Freeport Zone and Manila North Road, a report from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) showed.

In his Sona last year, Mr. Aquino described CGC as a “center for commerce and industry, not only of central Luzon, but also of the entire country.”

“At the end of the day, our vision for CGC is that it becomes even bigger than the Bonifacio Global City. Formerly isolated places will now become areas teeming with opportunity,” he said.

CGC would be developed in 9,500 ha of former American base lands, according to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), the project proponent. BCDA has also invited developers through bidding.

But more than 500 farmers growing crops, fish and livestock in the villages of Aranguren, Sta. Lucia, Manlapig and Patling (O’Donnell) since the Americans’ time refuse to leave until the BCDA provides them homes and pays them for damages.

Airport development

Mr. Aquino scored low among business leaders for his 2014 promise to boost the aviation industry to attract tourists and investments.

In developing the Clark International Airport (CRK), Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice chair Rene Romero gave the President a score of 3, in a scale of one to 10, with 10 as the highest score.

“CRK has been neglected again by the Aquino administration. The government failed to see the characteristics of CRK that can save the country from shame of bad airports and enhance our competitiveness.

Marc Nepomuceno, president of the Central Luzon Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the group had submitted every year in the last four years a resolution asking the President “regarding the full utilization and mobilization of the Clark International Airport in a dual airport system.”

“I guess you can say that our resolution for the past four years fell on deaf ears. During the first week of July, the North Luzon Area Business Conference was again held [in Laoag City] and again the same resolution was included in the ones to be submitted to President Aquino during the Philippine Business Conference in October 2015,” Nepomuceno said.

But Emigdio Tanjuatco III, president and chief executive officer of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC), was positive.

“I’ll rate [the development of the airport] 8 considering that it was during his tenure as President that CRK received almost P800 million for development. That’s excluding the P1.2 billion included in the [General Appropriations Act) for the new terminal,” Tanjuatco said.

What CIAC is hoping for, he said, are approval from the National Economic and Development Authority of a new terminal so bidding and construction could start, a clearly defined national policy on CRK, and a dual airport system for Luzon.

TPLEx completion, benefits

Former Mayor Nonato Abrenica of Villasis, Pangasinan province, said traveling through the TPLEx to Metro Manila and back to his town always saved him time.

From his house in Barangay Barraca, Villasis, it takes him only 10 minutes to drive to the TPLEx entrance at Barangay Tumana in neighboring Rosales town. From there, he reaches Balintawak in Quezon City in two hours or less.

In the past, he would drive to Tarlac City for two hours, struggling hard to get through the slow moving traffic in each of the towns along the Manila North Road (MNR) before finally reaching the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) entrance in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac City. He would then drive for another hour to reach Balintawak.

This more convenient and easier trip to and from northern Luzon through the TPLEx was what President Aquino mentioned in his Sona last year. This was supposed to be an offshoot of a stronger Public-Private Partnership program under his administration.

TPLEx, according to the DPWH website, is an 88.85-kilometer tollway from Tarlac City to Rosario, La Union, worth P21.379 billion. It is funded by the Private Infra Development Corp., an all-Filipino consortium led by Rapid Thoroughfares Inc. owned by the San Miguel Corp.

When Mr. Aquino delivered his Sona last year, TPLEx extended only up to Rosales. But he said the project proponents had told him the highway’s segment up to Urdaneta City would be completed in 2014 and the whole stretch up to Rosario in 2015.

On Dec. 20, 2014, the TPLEx segment from Rosales to Urdaneta was opened to traffic. But the President may have spoken too soon on its completion.

According to the DPWH website, the construction of the 25.83-km stretch from Urdaneta City to La Union only started in June. It is scheduled to be completed in December 2016, six months after the end of Mr. Aquino’s term.

The revised completion dates, according to the website, were due to the construction of additional two lanes for the last stages from Tarlac City to Urdaneta City “to enhance safety.”

As it is now, TPLEx has made the pilgrimage town of Manaoag closer to its devotees from the provinces south of Pangasinan and from Metro Manila. Travel time to Baguio City has also been reduced from six to four hours.

The completion of the TPLEx extension to Rosario will benefit travelers from Baguio City and Ilocos provinces more by cutting travel time.

But while people, especially from towns where TPLEx cuts through, find it convenient and easier to travel to Metro Manila and back, bangus (milkfish) and vegetable traders from Pangasinan and Benguet province do not use it because they find the tolls expensive.

According to the Toll Regulatory Board, Class 2 vehicles, which include trucks more than 2 meters high, are charged P464 from Urdaneta City and P334 from Rosales.

For Class 3 vehicles, which include 10-wheel trucks that transport bangus from Sual in western Pangasinan to Metro Manila, the fee is P540 from Urdaneta and P410 from Rosales.

Some vegetable traders in Urdaneta City pass through the TPLEx when they are in a hurry. To save on toll expenses, travelers take the MNR up to Tarlac City and enter the SCTEx there or travel to the entrance of the North Luzon Expressway in Barangay Dau in Mabalacat City, Pampanga.

In Baguio City, the gridlock that trapped tourists driving to the summer capital during the Christmas holiday in December proved two things.

Cutting down the driving hours to Baguio from the average six hours down to three hours would bring more tourists, thanks to TPLEx. Last year’s highest recorded average occupancy rate of city hotels and lodging homes was 47.19 percent in December, far higher than the 41.90 percent recorded in December 2013, according to data compiled by the Baguio City Tourism Office.

The gridlock, however, also revealed the shortcomings of the Baguio government when faced with a huge influx of visitors, said Benedicto Alhambra, city tourism officer.

Tony Reyes, TPLEx marketing head, said buses and traders had always been considered as a primary target market of toll roads, especially in the north where Baguio and the provinces of the Ilocos region are the most popular tourist destinations accessible through land travel.

He also said the most common reasons toll roads are used are safety of passengers and products, better road quality and shorter travel time.

Angat Dam rehab

Days before he would deliver his final Sona on Monday, President Aquino was in Bulacan province to witness what he promised last year. He inaugurated the P1.08-billion rehabilitation of the Angat Dam to stabilize and reinforce the structure against earthquakes.

Angat Dam is Metro Manila’s primary source of potable water but its modernization had been stalled for three years owing to its privatization.

Mr. Aquino said the rehabilitation project is important because it would ensure that outlying communities are protected in case a strong earthquake strikes.

“Angat Dam stands near the West Valley Fault and a 7.2-magnitude earthquake would impact the lives of 3 million Filipinos whose property, lives and livelihood would be disrupted. We will not let that happen,” he said.

Since the 1960s, the facility had not been upgraded, was not equipped with a surveillance system, and was classified as “conditionally poor” because of issues about its structural integrity, he said.

Angat Dam was built in 1961 and was commissioned in 1967.

The President also announced the inclusion of a P261 million flood forecasting and warning system and the construction of a P292 million flood control project for the Angat facility.

Laoag road project

Worth P1.2 billion, the 7.9-km Laoag bypass road was one of the projects identified by the President that would help hasten development in the provinces.

The bypass road and the construction of a bridge that crosses the Padsan River are expected to ease traffic gridlock in Laoag City and bring in investments and generate jobs in Ilocos Norte province.

Angelito Dian, DPWH Ilocos region project manager of the bypass road, said the project, now on its third phase, was 80 percent complete. He said the concreting of four lanes and slope protection is ongoing.

He said the budget for the construction of the fourth and final phase of the project, which includes a 735-meter steel girder type bridge, had been approved by the DPWH and would be opened for bidding by the end of this year. Reports from Tonette Orejas and Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon; and Gabriel Cardinoza, Vincent Cabreza, Kimberlie Quitasol and Leilanie Adriano, Inquirer Northern Luzon