This was announced last week by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Felicito Payumo during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Subic Bay Port Development Project which is also being funded by the Japanese government.
The construction of the first phase of the P18.74 billion Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway Project (SCTEP) has not yet been started as the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) is still trying to negotiate a lower contract price with the Japanese contractor Hazama-Taisei-Nippon Steel Group.
The first phase of the SCTEP would actually comprise of Package 2 which is a 44-kilometer, four-lane super highway that would connect Clark to Tarlac.
Construction was scheduled to begin by February or early March this year with completion targeted by 2006. Package 1 is the 50.5 kilometer section connecting Subic to Clark.
The Philippine government received an ODA loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) amounting to ¥41.931 million, which represents 85 percent of the total package cost of the 94.5 km toll highway.
According to Payumo, the JBIC would also probably fund the proposed 90-kilometer extension from Tarlac to La Union.
The proposed road would shorten the travel time from Tarlac to La Union to one and a half hours from the current four hour trip.
Expected to benefit from the extension would be companies in the Baguio Export Processing Zone (BEPZ) which have to bring their products to Manila for shipment through the Manila port or international airport.
Once Subic and Clark becomes more accessible, Payumo said, the ecozone exporters would be able to ship from either Subic or Clark.