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by Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter
THE Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway
(SCTEx) project cost has gone up nearly four times owing to the
increase in value-added tax, the National Economic and Development
Authority reported.
A NEDA document revealed the
request of the state-owned Bases Conversion Development Authority,
SCTEX’s implementing agency, for an increase in the cost of the
project by P6.478 billion, or 24.6 percent higher than the NEDA-approved
cost of P26.327 billion three years ago.
Of the total cost, civil works
take up P20.37 billion; consultancy, P1.36 billion; right-of- way
acquisition, P900 million; project administration, P985 million;
price escalation, P3.8 billion; taxes, P4.04 billion; Department of
Finance guarantee, P635 million, and interest during construction,
P604 million.
To cover all the costs, BCDA is
seeking a P6.728-billion supplemental loan from the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation (JBIC).
“The increase in total project
cost was due to price escalation, additional taxes and incremental
VAT of 2 percent, land acquisition . . .,” the NEDA document said.
The project involves the
construction, operation and maintenance of a 93.77-kilometer,
four-lane, asphalt concrete pavement expressway. It also includes
the construction of tollway structure (interchanges, bridges and
farm crossings) and axcillary facilities such as a toll plaza.
The project consists of two
packages—the first covers the 50.5-km Subic-Clark section worth
P12.698 billion and the second involves the construction of 43.27-km
Clark-Tarlac portion worth P8.271 billion.
Hiroshi Togo, JBIC chief
representative, said in an interview that the bank will appraise
BCDA’s request for a supplemental loan, stating that the
“supplemental loan is not yet approved . . . we will be
coordinating with the government.”
The Subic Clark-Tarlac Expressway
project is 85-percent financed by JBIC with loan validity from
December 2001 to December 2009.
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