Marcos-mandated SLEX extension to push through

TIAONG, Quezon, Philippines  – President Aquino announced here yesterday that the P13-billion South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Toll Road Project 4 that was mandated under the government of former President Ferdinand Marcos would push through.

The SLEX-TR4 extension will start from Sto. Tomas town in Batangas to Lucena in Quezon as mandated under Presidential Decrees 1112 and 1894. 

It involves the construction of a 58-kilometer, four-lane toll road divided into five sections - Section 1:  Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Macban, Laguna;  Section 2:  Macban to San Pablo, Laguna; Section 3:  San Pablo to Tiaong, Quezon; Section 4:  Tiaong to Candelaria, and Section 5: Candelaria to Lucena, Quezon.

Aquino said the project would cut down travel time from Lucena in Quezon to Sto. Tomas in Batangas from four hours to one.

He said the government shouldered the expenses for the construction of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).

The management of the NLEX was transferred to the Construction and Development Corp. of the Philippines (now Philippine National Construction Corp.) in exchange for the extension of the road from Rosales town in Pangasinan to Lucena in Quezon.

“We all know that up to now, it’s not yet in Quezon,” Aquino said.

He said the project, which would be completed in 2019, was proof of the private sector’s confidence in the country. 

Local government officials welcomed the development, saying the project would boost trade, commerce and tourism in the Calabarzon and Bicol regions.