WB okays P640-M loan for Subic road dev’t projects

The World Bank has approved a P640-million loan for road development projects at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

According to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the projects have been awarded to two private contractors, A.M. Oreta & Co. and the Pampanga-based Pentagon Industrial Corp.

SBMA chairman Felicito Payumo said Oreta & Co. had been awarded the P533-million contract to construct a 9.8-kilometer, four-lane road and replace four bridges within the zone.

"This road project is designed to accommodate trailer trucks and form an integral part of the port modernization plan directly complementing the Subic-Clark Toll Road," Payumo said.

Payumo said the project would start from the Subic Bay Yacht Club along Basin St. with a four-lane asphalt road to Binictican Bridge. He said a new by-pass road would be constructed across the swamp towards Boton Bridge on Argonaut Highway to Tarlac Road.

According to Payumo, the project would also involve road improvement from George Dewey to Causeway Road.

Aside from the road-widening project, Payumo said four bridges would be replaced, namely the Kalalake, Binictican, Malawaan and Boton Bridges approximately totaling 413.65 meters.

Payumo said the project is part of the Subic Bay Freeport phase II project aimed at upgrading the road network of the freeport. The completion of the project was set for November 2001.

PIC, on the other hand, was awarded a P107-million road maintenance contract.

Earlier, the Japanese government approved a P6.8-billion loan out of the Special Yen Loan Package known as the Obuchi Fund, to finance the implementation of the Subic Bay Port Development Project.

The project will be a vital component of the so-called Subic-Clark Alliance, a plan that will link the facilities of the Subic Bay Freeport and the Clark Special Economic Zone and develop the zones into a global intermodal transpark.

The project will involve the construction of a new container terminal at the Cubi Point area within the Subic Bay Freeport, with a length of 560 meters and a berth depth of 13 meters.

It will also rehabilitate the existing port facilities at the Naval Supply Depot and Boton areas, as well as construct an access road from the Boton area to the new container terminal.

The loan forms part of a ¥34.723-billion Special Yen Loan Package that will bankroll a series of development projects in the country. Payumo said the Subic port project was given the largest funding among other projects applied for funding under the Japanese loan facility.

The port development project is a result of a study conducted by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which was requested by the Philippine government to draw up a long term master plan for the Subic-Clark Alliance.