BCDA: Peso devaluation will not affect construction of Subic-Clark-Tarlac toll road

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — The devaluation of the peso will not affect the construction of the P27.5-billion Subic-Clark-Tarlac (SCT) toll road, which is supposed to be completed in 30 months, the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) said.

This is because funds for the project are based on a stable Japanese yen, BCDA vice president for operations Rex Chan said.

Chan explained that fluctuations in the exchange rate have been taken into account by the two Japanese contractors when they submitted their bids last year.

"There are also provisions in the contract (between the BCDA and the contractors) that will provide a buffer," he added.

Japanese firms Kajima Joint Ventures Inc. and Hasama Joint Ventures Inc. won the bidding last year for the project when the peso to US dollar exchange rate was lower.

BCDA president and chief executive officer Narciso Abaya said in a statement that the completion of the SCT expressway, which will be the longest tollway in the country when finished at 93.7 kilometers, is crucial in "boosting regional growth and provide incentive for new businesses and industries along the project vicinity of Luzon."

Of the total P27.5 billion project, P21 billion is a loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The remaining P6 billion constitutes BCDA’s counterpart, which will cover payment for right-of-way costs and some P3.1 billion tax subsidy.

In an interview with The Star, Chan said provisions in the contract with the two Japanese contractors assigned to finish the project would ensure the completion of the project within the designated time frame.

Chan said contractors will be fined P5 million per day if they fail to finish the long-delayed P27.5-billion, 93.7-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTE) within 30 months.

This, amid reports that the full blast contruction of the tollway was again stalled by changes in the project design that would use "burrowed" earth instead of lahar for road filling. About five million cubic meters of compacted materials are also needed for the project.

A source who asked not to be named said that the initial plan was to use 100 percent lahar debris. But th change in plan would be more costly and destructive to the environment.

Chan, however, said that the use of lahar is still being tested and may be used for embankments at the flyover portion of the SCTE at the gate of Clark in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

He said that while volcanic materials are used for similar projects in Japan, there is yet a need to determine whether Mt. Pinatubo’s lahar could be compacted to suit the SCTE. Laboratory equipment from Japan, he noted, has already arrived.

Chan said that if the Japanese contractors fail to finish the project in 30 months, they would be fined P5 million per day of delay.

Chan said work on the SCTE is largely not noticeable yet because the contractors have merely started putting in place embankments and piles for bridges in areas not readily visible to the public.

The project covers 33 bridges. Of these, four are major bridges with a length of more than 300 meters, including the Sacobia-Bamban River bridges, which will be the longest at 1.16 kilometers. The three other major bridges are the Pasig-Potrero River bridge, which will be 720 meters; the Porac River bridge, which is estimated to be 400 meters; and the Gumain River bridge at 318 meters. Other structures include 44 underpasses and 255 culverts. Another feature of the expressway is the state-of-the-art closed-circuit toll system.