Pinuri ni House Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda (Albay, 2nd district) ang anunsyo ng Toll Regulatory Board na nakatakda ng aprubahan ang final engineering design para sa unang bahagi ng South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 5 (TR5) na hudyat sa pagsisimula sa construction ng expressway.
Batay sa naging anunsiyo ng Toll Regulatory Board ang sakop ng final engineering design ang unang segment mula Lucena patungong Gumaca, Quezon.
Ayon kay Rep. Salceda ang construction ng TR4, ang Lucena-Gumaca segment ay magdudulot ng malaking kaginhawaan sa mga commuter at truckers at mababawasan na rin ang gastos sa pagdadala ng mga kalakal patungong Bicol region.
“The lack of strong land transport links to Calabarzon effectively makes Bicol an island, which makes us vulnerable to stress on food and supply of other essential goods during emergencies. It also makes our supply chains with Manila very expensive to maintain,” pahayag ni Salceda.
Sinabi pa ng ekonomistang Kongresista, para sa Albay ang pinakamahalagang linkage patungong Bico Ecozone na aprubado na ng PEZA Board na nakatakdang iproklama ngayong taon.
“Once you have SLEX and the Bicol Ecozone, plus DA’s planned agricultural super port there, food costs will go down for much of Albay, and we will have as many as 8,000 new manufacturing jobs, So, we will definitely pursue arterials from SLEX to Libon,” wika ni Salceda.
Siniguro din ng Kongresista na kaniyang isusulong ang Naga-Legazpi segment bilang karugtong ng Lucena-Gumaca segment.
“The Naga- Legazpi portion has a catchment area of around 2.2 million people, including the two largest cities in South Luzon. I think RSA can pursue and operate that segment in advance, so that we don’t have to wait for completion of the emptier parts between Gumaca and Sipocot,” pahayag ni Salceda.
Binigyang-diin din ni Salceda na ang tollroad segment magiging mas madaling ma-access ang Bicol International Airport sa Camarines Sur, na napakahalaga para sa kakayahang mabuhay ng paliparan at para sa Naga.
“I will be asking Secretary Vince Dizon to explore this option, that we pursue this as soon as possible. It’s good for both cities, and I think it will move the needle positively for SLEX revenues as well,” pahayag ni Salceda.
