House Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda (Albay, 2nd district) praised the Toll Regulatory Board's (TRB) announcement that the final engineering design for the first section of the South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 5 (TR5) is set to be approved, signaling the start of construction of the expressway.
The first section, from Lucena City to Gumaca, Quezon, is covered by the final engineering design, according to the notification made by the TRB.
Truckers and commuters will find the Lucena-Gumaca portion of TR5 to be quite convenient, and it will also lower the cost of shipping products to the Bicol area, Salceda said.
"Bicol is effectively an island due to the lack of reliable land transportation connections to Calabarzon, leaving us susceptible to shortages of food and other necessities in times of crisis.
Additionally, it raises the cost of maintaining our supply chains with Manila," the representative added.
The Bicol Ecozone and SLEX, along with DA's proposed agricultural mega port there, will lower food prices for a large portion of Albay and create up to 8,000 new manufacturing jobs.
"Therefore, we will undoubtedly pursue arterials from SLEX to Libon," Salceda said.
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is poised to commence construction on the initial segment of its 417-kilometer toll road connecting Quezon to Sorsogon by the end of the month.
On the other hand, the 66.74-kilometer SLEX TR 4 project, from Santo Tomas City, Batangas to Lucena City, is expected to be completed by 2026.
Congressional support
Salceda said he would also push for the simultaneous construction of the Naga-Legazpi segment of TR5 to speed up benefits to Bicol's key cities.
"The Naga-Legazpi portion has a catchment area of around 2.2 million people, including the two largest cities in South Luzon. I think RSA [Ramon S. Ang, SMC’s Chairman and CEO] can pursue and operate that segment in advance so that we don't have to wait for completion of the emptier parts between Gumaca and Sipocot," he said.
Salceda also said the toll road would also improve access to Bicol International Airport, which would boost tourism and business in the region.
He vowed to collaborate with the government to explore options for accelerating the project.
"I will be asking [Transportation] Secretary Vince Dizon to explore this option, that we pursue this as soon as possible. It's good for both cities, and I think it will move the needle positively for SLEX revenues as well," he said.
(With additional report from the Philippine News Agency)
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