SCTEX opens Porac interchange

The Porac interchange, the 11th interchange along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), will be opened to motorists Wednesday thus boosting access to more towns in Pampanga province.

Bases Conversion Development Authority President Narciso Abaya said the opening of the Porac interchange will further improve access and boost tourism and investment opportunities in the region.

Abaya said the Porac interchange would be the 11th interchange along SCTEX, which has total project cost of P32 billion. The original interchanges that have been opened to motorists are Tarlac, Luisita (San Miguel), Concepcion, Dolores, Clark north, Mabalacat, Dinalupihan and Tipo.

The Porac interchange is among the three additional interchanges in the SCTEX that includes Clark South, which opened last April 5, and Floridablanca, but which has yet to be opened.

President Gloria Arroyo will lead the opening ceremonies. She is expected to enter the SCTEX on her way to Porac and exit at the trumpet-type Porac interchange.

She will then proceed to Porac via the newly completed 5.8-km Porac access road and 40-meter bridge constructed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). President Arroyo will be accompanied by members of her official family.

Arroyo will be met by Abaya, BCDA Chairman Aloysius Santos, BCDA President and CEO Narciso Abaya, the BCDA Board of Directors and Tollways Management Corporation (TMC) President Ramon S. Fernandez. Abaya said the Porac Interchange will augur well for the town’s tourism and agri-business sector.

“We now have a seamless connection between Manila and Porac not to mention between Porac and the two major freeport zones Clark and Subic. This makes Porac more attractive to investors,” Abaya noted.

Motorists from Manila entering SCTEX through the Mabalacat Toll plaza are advised to head towards the direction of Subic. The Porac Interchange will be the second interchange to the right or after the Clark South Interchange.

Motorists from Subic and Bataan who want to go to Porac are advised to go straight until they reach the Porac Interchange (between the Dinalupihan and Clark South Interchanges).

Likewise, motorists coming from the North entering the SCTEX Tarlac Toll Plaza, the Porac Interchange will be the fifth interchange to the right, passing by the interchanges of Concepcion, Clark North, Mabalacat, and Clark South. By BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT - Manila Bulletin