BAGUIO CITY -- Another portion of the P23.8-billion Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) is set to open to motorists this week, an official of concessionaire Private Infra Dev Corp. (PIDC) said here on Saturday.
Mark A. Dumol, PIDC president, said this portion -- which serves
as section 1-B of TPLEx -- spans 32.30 kilometers (km) and will run
from Tarlac to Barangay Carmen in Rosales, Pangasinan.
“We are targeting to open it to traffic on April 16. The project will be initially toll-free because we have to apply for that, so motorists will only have to pay up to Paniqui (Tarlac),” Mr. Dumol said during the 2014 Business Journalism Seminar held at Le Monet Hotel.
Last year, PIDC started the operations of TPLEx’s section 1-A -- a 17-km thoroughfare that runs from Tarlac City to the municipalities of Paniqui and Gerona.
Two more phases of TPLEx will be opened to complete the 88.85-km TPLEx.
Mr. Dumol said section 2 -- which runs for 13.72 km from Carmen to Urdaneta, Pangasinan -- will open in December 2014.
“Right now, section 2 is already about 30% complete. It’s doing well. We hope to complete it by the end of this year,” the official said, adding this is earlier than originally planned opening in December next year.
To complete the tollway project, section 3 -- with a total distance of 25.83 kilometers -- will run from Urdaneta to Rosario in La Union.
“We will start that by the end of this year and will complete by December 2015, ahead of our original target in 2018,” Mr. Dumol said.
TPLEx -- construction of which started in August 2010 -- is envisioned cut the travel time between Manila and Baguio to two to three hours from six.
Mr. Dumol said the highway will have security features, patrol cars and emergency assistance vehicles.
Private concessionaire PIDC is an all-Filipino consortium led by Ramon S. Ang’s San Miguel Corp.; DMCI Group; D.M. Wenceslao & Associates, Inc.; R.D. Policarpio Construction, Inc.; New Kanlaon Construction, Inc.; J.E. Manalo & Company, Inc.; and C.M. Pancho Construction, Inc.
San Miguel, which has diversified into heavier industries such as power and infrastructure from food and beverage, controls the concessionaires behind South Luzon Expressway and Manila Skyway.
Its unit, Optimal Infrastructure Development Corp., also won the P15.8-billion public-private partnership project to build Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway, which will link the main airport and Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City, Parañaque City, near Manila Bay.
Together with Indonesia’s Citra Group, the company has already started construction of the P26.5-billion Skyway 3, a 14-km toll road that will link North and South Luzon expressways.
San Miguel’s net income grew 42% to P38.1 billion last year, mainly driven by its P40-billion, one-time gain from the sale of its stake in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco). The sale of its 27% stake in Meralco to Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings, Inc. offset P15.6 billion in foreign exchange losses. Revenues rose 7% to P748 billion mainly due to improvement in sales from new businesses.
Shares of the company gained P2.50 or 3.14% to end P82 apiece on Friday last week from P79.50 each on Thursday. -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano
“We are targeting to open it to traffic on April 16. The project will be initially toll-free because we have to apply for that, so motorists will only have to pay up to Paniqui (Tarlac),” Mr. Dumol said during the 2014 Business Journalism Seminar held at Le Monet Hotel.
Last year, PIDC started the operations of TPLEx’s section 1-A -- a 17-km thoroughfare that runs from Tarlac City to the municipalities of Paniqui and Gerona.
Two more phases of TPLEx will be opened to complete the 88.85-km TPLEx.
Mr. Dumol said section 2 -- which runs for 13.72 km from Carmen to Urdaneta, Pangasinan -- will open in December 2014.
“Right now, section 2 is already about 30% complete. It’s doing well. We hope to complete it by the end of this year,” the official said, adding this is earlier than originally planned opening in December next year.
To complete the tollway project, section 3 -- with a total distance of 25.83 kilometers -- will run from Urdaneta to Rosario in La Union.
“We will start that by the end of this year and will complete by December 2015, ahead of our original target in 2018,” Mr. Dumol said.
TPLEx -- construction of which started in August 2010 -- is envisioned cut the travel time between Manila and Baguio to two to three hours from six.
Mr. Dumol said the highway will have security features, patrol cars and emergency assistance vehicles.
Private concessionaire PIDC is an all-Filipino consortium led by Ramon S. Ang’s San Miguel Corp.; DMCI Group; D.M. Wenceslao & Associates, Inc.; R.D. Policarpio Construction, Inc.; New Kanlaon Construction, Inc.; J.E. Manalo & Company, Inc.; and C.M. Pancho Construction, Inc.
San Miguel, which has diversified into heavier industries such as power and infrastructure from food and beverage, controls the concessionaires behind South Luzon Expressway and Manila Skyway.
Its unit, Optimal Infrastructure Development Corp., also won the P15.8-billion public-private partnership project to build Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway, which will link the main airport and Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City, Parañaque City, near Manila Bay.
Together with Indonesia’s Citra Group, the company has already started construction of the P26.5-billion Skyway 3, a 14-km toll road that will link North and South Luzon expressways.
San Miguel’s net income grew 42% to P38.1 billion last year, mainly driven by its P40-billion, one-time gain from the sale of its stake in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco). The sale of its 27% stake in Meralco to Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings, Inc. offset P15.6 billion in foreign exchange losses. Revenues rose 7% to P748 billion mainly due to improvement in sales from new businesses.
Shares of the company gained P2.50 or 3.14% to end P82 apiece on Friday last week from P79.50 each on Thursday. -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano
Blog repost from:
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=Tarlac-La-Union-road-segment-set-to-open&id=86043
