The Department of Public Works and Highways said it expects to complete an access road that will connect the Subic Bay Freeport Zone to the Hermosa Ecozone Industrial Park in Bataan by 2027.
Public Works Secretary Roger Mercado said the construction of the access road is divided into two stages, including the Mabiga-Morong-SBFZ section for Phase 1 and the Mabigat-Palihan section for Phase 2.
Included in the project’s Phases 1 and 2 are the construction of a four-lane, 17.74-kilometer road from SBFZ to the Mabiga Exit of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and the 7.43-kilometer road opening with slope protection and drainage from Barangay Mabiga to Barangay Palihan in Hermosa.
The first phase of the project received a P120-million funding from the 2020 national budget for the 3.95-kilometer road improvement of the Mabiga-Morong segment.
Meanwhile, a total of P200 million from the 2021 General Appropriations Act was allocated for the civil works of the Mabiga-Palihan section.
The DPWH said the expected completion dates for the construction works in the Mabiga-Morong segment and the Mabiga-Palihan section are June 2022 and January 2023, respectively.
The whole stretch of the access road is expected to be fully operational and open to public by 2027.
Once completed, the access road will serve as a new alternate road from the HEIP to major seaports and airports in the region while also facilitating inter-regional transportation by acting as a link of the industrial center to the Luzon Spine Expressway.