CLARK FREEPORT ZONE — Major interchanges along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) are set to be expanded and extended by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) following the continuous increase in traffic volume.
BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua Bingcang disclosed during the Philippine Economic Briefing in Clark that the state firm will spend approximately P1 billion within the next two years for improvement works at SCTEX.
About P750 million has been earmarked for the expansion and construction of three interchanges including the completion of the Luisita Interchange in Tarlac City into a full trumpet interchange by constructing a northbound entry and southbound exits.
Currently, the interchange has only one exit in the northbound portion going to Tarlac City, while motorists from Manila North Road or Mac Arthur Highway going to the north cannot enter the SCTEX.
In the southbound lane, vehicles from Tarlac City going to Manila or Clark can enter SCTEX but vehicles from the north cannot enter Luisita interchange due to the absence of a southbound exit ramp. Eastern alignment of the interchange is also in the pipeline.
Bingcang added that an expanded and completed Luisita interchange will provide vital access to industrial hubs and township developments such as the Luisita Industrial Park, Cresendo of AyalaLand, and TARI Estate of Aboitiz Infracapital.
In the westbound lane of the SCTEX or going to Subic Bay Freeport Zone, BCDA will construct a new interchange in the Hermosa section to improve access to the Bataan Technology Park and the new Philippine Marine Corps Headquarters in Morong.
And lastly, the Mabalacat interchange, which is vital to SCTEX’s connection to North Luzon Expressway or NLEX, will also be upgraded and expanded.
These projects contribute to the development of the Luzon Economic Corridor in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Build-Better-More Infrastructure Program.
