SMC offers to extend TPLEx

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. submitted an unsolicited offer to extend its Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) to San Juan, La Union, also known as the surfing capital of north Luzon.

The project was submitted in February by SMC’s flagship infrastructure subsidiary San Miguel Holdings Corp., according to the Department of Public Works and Highways. The DPWH said the project was now under evaluation.

The TPLEx extension is a proposed 59.4-kilometer toll road with four lanes. It will start from the final exit of the TPLEx, which is Rosario, La Union. From there, it will run through San Juan.

The project cost is estimated at around P24 billion and will be divided into three phases.

The TPLEx is among SMC’s earliest and largest toll road investments. The concession is held by Private Infra Dev Corp., which SMC controls.

The original TPLEx, which began construction in 2010, is an 88.85-km toll road that aims to link Tarlac City and Rosario. The final Pozorrubio, Pangasinan to Rosario section is slated for completion in June 2019, information posted on the DPWH’s website showed.

According to the DPWH, the TPLEx extension will promote the development of Northern Luzon and will improve access between Central Luzon and Metro Manila.

Because it is an unsolicited offer, it will need to undergo a Swiss challenge process, meaning other companies will be invited to submit better offers. This is after it obtains the final approval of the board of the National Economic and Development Authority.

SMC’s other toll road investments include the South Luzon Expressway, Skyway Stage 1 and 2, Star Toll Road in Batangas and Naia Expressway.

It is also building the Skyway Stage 3, which will link North Luzon Expressway with the SLEx, and Skyway Stage 4, which will connect the Skyway system in Metro Manila to the Batasan Complex in Quezon City.

San Miguel Holdings’ portfolio also spans railways (Metro Rail Transit Line 7), airports (Boracay Airport), water services (Bulacan Bulk Water) and ports (Manila North Harbor). It is also pursuing a P700 billion international airport project in Bulacan province.

The projects are part of the conglomerate’s ambitious diversification strategy, announced over a decade ago.