San Miguel Corp. (SMC), in partnership with the Pangasinan provincial government, yesterday officially started construction works on the 76.8-kilometer Pangasinan Link Expressway (P-LEX).
P-LEX, to be fully funded by SMC, will connect the eastern and western sides of the province and will be linked to the company’s existing toll expressway, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), at the Binalonan exit.
Ramon Ang, SMC president and chief executive officer, said the construction of P-LEX would incur no costs for the provincial government, committing to timely completion pending the acquisition of the necessary right-of- way.
“The provincial government will also receive a substantial share of the project’s earnings,” Ang said, adding the project will boost local industries, agriculture and tourism.
The project is structured in two phases, with the first phase linking Binalonan to Lingayen, the provincial capital.
The first phase is subdivided into three segments – a 6.90-km section from Binalonan to Manaoag, an 11.30-km stretch from Manaoag to Calasiao, and a 22.17-km passage from Calasiao to Lingayen, along with a 2.39-km spur road in Calasiao.
Phase 2 of the project will be a demand-driven expansion all the way to Alaminos, Pangasinan.
