MANILA – Motorists can now use the first 18 kilometers of the Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) from the SCTEX/TPLEX connection in Tarlac City up to the Aliaga-Guimba Road intersection in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija.
President Rodrigo Duterte, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar, Senator Bong Go, and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa led the inauguration ceremony of the four-lane toll-free expressway project connecting Tarlac and Nueva Ecija provinces on Thursday.
The following sections of CLLEX will be opened first, and they are covered by three contract packages: The 4.10-kilometer Tarlac Section, the 6.40-kilometer Rio Chico River Bridge Section, which includes the 1.5-kilometer Rio Chico Viaduct, and the Aliaga Section with up and down ramps on Guimba-Aliaga Road.
The Department of Public Works and Highways’ Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) implemented the new highway project which was led by Undersecretary Emil Sadain and Project Director Benjamin Bautista of UPMO Roads Management Cluster 1 (Bilateral), who worked double-time to complete the project.
CLLEX is one of the primary infrastructure projects receiving funding assistance from the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in support of the Build, Build, Build program.
The overall 30-kilometer expressway project is intended to reduce the typical travel time between Tarlac City and Cabanatuan City from 70 minutes to 20 minutes.
This new highway will help safeguard the Philippines’ sustainability and development by overcoming distance and transportation limitations. It will provide more than scenic views as you travel and explore the stunning destinations in Central Luzon.
In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and other hurdles, the Build, Build, Build program continues to fulfill its objective of developing infrastructure that enhances the lives of Filipinos.
While Build, Build, Build continues to make progress, it is also paving the foundation for the next generation’s infrastructure.
