Commentary by-Felicito C. Payumo March 31, 2008
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First, the good news! The 93.8 kilometer, four-lane Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) would be officially opened to motorists next month. A dry run was conducted last week by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Driving at cruising speed it would take one only 30 minutes to get to Clark from Subic. From Balintawak, it will only take a little over an hour to reach Subic via Clark.
This project is complementary to the Subic Bay International Container Port which was finished in July 2007. The expressway and the seaport, together with the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport Project, form a logistics hub that has already attracted two big investments: the $1.5 billion for Han-Jin’s shipyard in Subic and $1 billion for Texas Instruments’ expansion in Clark.
More good news… the expressway will be extended from its terminus in La Paz, Tarlac to Rosario, La Union- an additional distance of 89.5 kilometers! At cruising speed, it will take only 45 minutes to drive the distance. Baguio will soon be reachable from Balintawak in 3 hours. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), which financed both the Subic Port and the SCTEX, has reportedly expressed interest to finance the extension project at same concessionary terms. But a consortium of ten Filipino contractors has submitted a Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO) proposal- a variant of the BOT- to finance, construct and operate the tollway. The consortium, Private Infra Development Corporation, has reportedly won the bidding and expects to be awarded the project shortly. This project would not have happened this soon had the SCTEX not been constructed showing the potential of extending the expressway northward.
Now, the disappointing news…the Tarlac- Rosario, La Union Expressway (take that back, say Road) will only have two lanes. The traffic study done by the proponent’s consultants showed that the project would be financially viable only as a two-lane highway. The cost is estimated at P14.6 billion for the two lane road, including engineering and right of way (row) acquisition of 32.5 meters . Doubling the cost to build four lanes would push it close to P29 billion, just about the cost of the SCTEX (excluding the row cost). But if the widening is done later, the row cost will certainly escalate unless the additional 30 meters are acquired now.
By comparison, a previous study made in February 2006 by the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) estimated the total cost for a four-lane Tarlac- La Union Expressway at P25.46 billion.
The public is disappointed. Motorists, used to traveling at the designed cruising speed of 120 kms per hour on both NLEX (6-4 lanes) and SCTEX (4 lanes) will suddenly be funneled into a two-lane Tarlac-La Union Road. Would motorists divert from McArthur highway and pay toll fees if the new highway will only have two lanes? The proponents think so because they expect the motorists to save time and vehicle operating costs. There will be no goats and tricycles crossing the highway. But the issue of safety will certainly be raised if there is no road divider. With a divider, how would motorists overtake?
BOT vs ODA
Still, a two-lane toll-way is not what the public looks forward to especially after their expectation has been raised. It’s true that the San Fernando-Angeles segment of the NLEX was a two-lane highway for sometime, but that was a short stretch and worth the wait for the SCTEX. They contend that if the private sector cannot do it, then why not take an Official Development Assistance (ODA) from Japan? ODAs are designed primarily for infrastructures, particularly missionary projects that are not viable for commercial undertaking. The SCTEX, for instance, was looked at by Parsons International for a BOT scheme, but was found not viable using commercial financing. Even JBIC was initially reluctant to finance it until it was explained to them that the Subic Port Project needs an efficient access to the hinterlands. Eventually, JBIC extended to BCDA a special 40 year yen loan inclusive of a 10 year grace period at 0.95% interest rate from the Obuchi Fund which made the project financially viable.
But there is a case for a private sector undertaking. While the east- west Subic-Clark segment of SCTEX is clearly a missionary route, the Tarlac-La Union artery has the north-south mainstream traffic. If this cannot qualify under a BOT scheme, then no other road project can.
The question is: shall we have a capillary (the two-lane Tarlac-La Union tollway) connect to two arteries (the NLEX and SCTEX)? That might be one for Ripley’s.
F.C. Payumo was a three-term Representative for the First District of Bataan and former Chairman and Administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
Comments to: payumo.felicito@gmail.com
