San Miguel Corp. and the Department of Public Works and Highways on Wednesday opened the final section of Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway that will further reduce travel time from Tarlac to Rosario, La Union.
San Miguel said the opening of the final 11-kilometer segment of TPLEX would also reduce travel time between Metro Manila and Baguio City to just three-and-a-half hours.
“In the face of a global pandemic that has also greatly affected our economy and the livelihoods of many Filipinos, we at San Miguel Corp. remain committed to continuing our investments in growth-generating and job-creating projects that will help build the resilience of our people,” said Ramon Ang, president of San Miguel, the parent company of SMC Infrastructure which built and operates the TPLEX.
Ang said the completion of TPLEX, along with its commitment to continue investments on major infrastructure projects, were San Miguel’s contribution to boost the economy.
“The economy ground to a halt because of the pandemic, and among the most affected were our farmers as well as small businesses such as restaurants, hotels, stores that also rely on tourism. By not scaling back on investments in infrastructure, we will be able to create more jobs, keep the flow of goods and services moving, and pave the way for more local tourism for the long-term,” he said.
San Miguel-led Private Infra Dev Corp. holds the concession for TPLEX, an 88.85-km, four-lane, high-speed toll road that connects Northern Luzon to Manila. It is designed to integrate with other major toll roads such as North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.
TPLEX now has ten interchanges and 11 toll plazas in Tarlac City, Victoria, Pura, Ramos and Anao in Tarlac; Carmen, Urdaneta, Binalonan, Pozorrubio and Sison in Pangasinan; and Rosario, La Union. The Sison, Pangasinan exit was added to the original alignment to help locals and was currently being completed.
San Miguel also received original proponent status for its proposal to extend the TPLEX from Rosario, La Union to San Juan, La Union, whose beaches have become a hot spot for local tourism. The proposed four-lane extension project will cover some 59 kilometers.
“Our next goal now is to extend TPLEX all the way to San Juan. We look forward to the continued support of our national and local governments for this project, which will bring even more growth to the region,” Ang said.
Aside from the Pozzurubio-Rosario TPLEX section, the completion of a new unit of Masinloc Power Plant, Skyway 3, Skyway Extension, Skyway 4, and MRT-7 are also in the pipeline.
San Miguel said would also push through with its plan to build the P735-billion Manila International Airport project in Bulakan, Bulacan.
