MORONG, Bataan—The opening of the Porac and Floridablanca interchanges on the Pampanga side of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) faces delay, an official of the Bases Conversion Development Authority said.
While the state-owned agency is certain it can finish the two interchanges by at least June 30, the Department of Public Works and Highways may not be able to meet the deadline to complete the access roads due to additional works and lack of funds, BCDA executive vice president Isaac Puno said in an interview at the sidelight of a media tour on Anvaya Cove here last week.
Puno, who is also the program director of the SCTEx project, said the BCDA was not inclined to open traffic in those segments even as dirt roads are currently available there.
The mud poses safety risks to motorists, he explained.
Alfredo Tolentino, DPWH director in Central Luzon, said P100 million has been released two weeks ago for the 5.6-km access road to the Floridablanca interchange.
“The funds are not enough because we have to also construct a drainage system to prevent flooding there,” Tolentino said in a phone interview.
The 5.8-km road and 40-meter bridge for the Porac interchange has received at least P187 million but these structures and the drainage system needed more budget, he said.
Sen. Manuel Lapid contributed P30 million from out of his office’s countrywide development funds, he said.
Lapid’s contribution was less than the P100 million he initially committed as he fought off the plan of the Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon to put the interchange in Barangay Manuali.
Tolentino said the additional costs are being finalized and the DPWH may be ready to make the funding request next week.
“We will try to beat the June 30 deadline by working 24/7 [24 hours daily, seven days weekly] starting next week,” Tolentino said.
The BCDA has given SCTEx motorists access to the Clark Freeport through the Panday Pira road, which opened last December, and Clark South Interchange last April 9.
TRAFFIC
Puno said the late opening of the interchanges can affect the traffic volume on the 94-km toll road to “a certain extent,” he said.
Since April or a year after the SCTEx was opened, the traffic volume has reached 18,000 vehicles daily, bringing in P2 million daily from the P2 per km toll fee, he said. Much of the road users are cars and jeeps or Class 1 vehicles.
The current traffic volume is a more than half of the 35,000-daily target, a level that can help boost BCDA’s full capability to start paying the principal of the original P27-billion loan starting 2011, Puno said. The loan was obtained from the Japan government.
A toll increase is “in the offing” but lots of paperwork will have to be done before the application is submitted to the Toll Regulatory Board, he said.
The BCDA is also preparing the terms of reference for the bidding of SCTEx’s operations and management contract. The Tollways Management Corp. is the interim operator of the SCTEx.
It has also completed the access roads to farms on the Tarlac side of the SCTEx, according to Robert Gervacio, SCTEx program manager for operations support. The civil case filed by local officials over the delay of those access roads had been withdrawn, Gervacio said.
While the state-owned agency is certain it can finish the two interchanges by at least June 30, the Department of Public Works and Highways may not be able to meet the deadline to complete the access roads due to additional works and lack of funds, BCDA executive vice president Isaac Puno said in an interview at the sidelight of a media tour on Anvaya Cove here last week.
Puno, who is also the program director of the SCTEx project, said the BCDA was not inclined to open traffic in those segments even as dirt roads are currently available there.
The mud poses safety risks to motorists, he explained.
Alfredo Tolentino, DPWH director in Central Luzon, said P100 million has been released two weeks ago for the 5.6-km access road to the Floridablanca interchange.
“The funds are not enough because we have to also construct a drainage system to prevent flooding there,” Tolentino said in a phone interview.
The 5.8-km road and 40-meter bridge for the Porac interchange has received at least P187 million but these structures and the drainage system needed more budget, he said.
Sen. Manuel Lapid contributed P30 million from out of his office’s countrywide development funds, he said.
Lapid’s contribution was less than the P100 million he initially committed as he fought off the plan of the Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon to put the interchange in Barangay Manuali.
Tolentino said the additional costs are being finalized and the DPWH may be ready to make the funding request next week.
“We will try to beat the June 30 deadline by working 24/7 [24 hours daily, seven days weekly] starting next week,” Tolentino said.
The BCDA has given SCTEx motorists access to the Clark Freeport through the Panday Pira road, which opened last December, and Clark South Interchange last April 9.
TRAFFIC
Puno said the late opening of the interchanges can affect the traffic volume on the 94-km toll road to “a certain extent,” he said.
Since April or a year after the SCTEx was opened, the traffic volume has reached 18,000 vehicles daily, bringing in P2 million daily from the P2 per km toll fee, he said. Much of the road users are cars and jeeps or Class 1 vehicles.
The current traffic volume is a more than half of the 35,000-daily target, a level that can help boost BCDA’s full capability to start paying the principal of the original P27-billion loan starting 2011, Puno said. The loan was obtained from the Japan government.
A toll increase is “in the offing” but lots of paperwork will have to be done before the application is submitted to the Toll Regulatory Board, he said.
The BCDA is also preparing the terms of reference for the bidding of SCTEx’s operations and management contract. The Tollways Management Corp. is the interim operator of the SCTEx.
It has also completed the access roads to farms on the Tarlac side of the SCTEx, according to Robert Gervacio, SCTEx program manager for operations support. The civil case filed by local officials over the delay of those access roads had been withdrawn, Gervacio said.
