Clark north interchange opens December 23

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority, builder and operator of the 94-kilometer Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), announced the completion of the 3.8-kilometer Panday Pira Road and the Clark North Interchange.

The BCDA said both facilities would strengthen further the SCTEX’s role as a key player in the development of Central Luzon into a premier investors’ haven in the Asia Pacific rim.

In a press briefing at the Clark Freeport Zone, BCDA executive vice-president Isaac Puno III described the state-run corporation as the people’s “long-term partner as we seek to achieve development goals where Central Luzon would be the most progressive, most dynamic and strongest economy in the Philippines.”

“I wish to thank you all for keeping faith with us that this huge project can be completed in the midst of skepticism of a few,” Puno told the reporters.

“We also want to share with you a vision of Central Luzon where one roadway passes through it like a beneficent development force where life, commerce and all things connected with life accelerate growth and prosperity,” Puno added.

During the same forum, SCTEX spokesman and program manager for operational support and services Robert Gervacio said the Panday Pira road and the Clark North Interchange serve as the northern access to Clark from the SCTEX.

SCTEX program manager for engineering and construction Eduardo Lena said the Panday Pira access road located inside Clark which connects to the already completed Clark North Interchange, is substantially complete and is set to open to vehicular traffic in time for the opening of the Clark North Interchange on Dec. 23, starting at 6 a.m.

Lena also revealed that the Clark South Interchange, which is near the Yokohama manufacturing facility in Clark, is expected to be operational by the first quarter of next year. Two more interchanges – one in Porac and another in Floridablanca, both in Pampanga – are under construction and are expected to be finished in June 2009.