SCTEx raising toll rates starting Friday

Rates are going up at the Subic Clark Expressway (SCTEx) starting June 14 this year after the toll road regulator approved an application made eight years ago.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the operator of the 94-kilometer SCTEx, said in a statement that it would start collecting an additional P0.51 per km on Friday.

The toll adjustment petition was filed in 2011 by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, the state-run entity that built the SCTEx. Metro Pacific assumed formal operations and maintenance of the SCTEx in 2015.

Under the approval, motorists with Class 1 vehicles (ordinary cars) traveling from Mabalacat City (Mabiga Interchange) to Tarlac will pay an additional P20 after the increase.

Motorists using Class 2 vehicles (buses and small commercial trucks) using the same corridor will pay an additional P40 and Class 3 vehicles (large trucks/trailers) will pay an additional P60.

Meanwhile, motorists traveling between Mabalacat and Tipo in Subic will be charged an additional P32, P66 and P98 for Class 1, 2, and 3 vehicles, respectively.

“Although SCTEx toll rates have remained at 2011 levels, infrastructure improvements along the 94-km tollway have continued,” Metro Pacific said in a statement. Among these improvements was the NLEx-South Luzon Expressway toll payment integration project in 2016.

Moreover, the entire stretch of the SCTEx between Tarlac and Tipo also underwent a massive asphalt pavement upgrade in 2017. On the other hand, the Tipo Toll Plaza and the new Mabiga Interchange received additional toll lanes.

“The SCTEx upgrade continues as 20 additional toll lanes are set to be constructed in the Clark North, Clark South, San Miguel, Bamban, and Tarlac toll plazas this year to address traffic congestion and spur growth in these areas,” Metro Pacific added.

The company said a new Bamban Interchange in Tarlac is already under construction that will establish a direct route from the SCTEx to the New Clark City, in time for the country’s hosting of the Southeast Asian Games in November this year.