Government Projects.. Did you know?

All government projects are plagued with controversies. But that doesn't mean they have to stop those projects. I hope they don't. But I also hope that they don't waste too much money because of corruption. Corruption is a fact of life, especially here in the Philippines. I don't think they'll change overnight but I hope they do in the near future. I've mentioned the word "hope" several times because in reality, the only thing we can do is to HOPE.. and PRAY! (hope and pray that they don't get too greedy and that they'll eventually change)

Anyway, this blog is about some of our government's infrastructure projects and others. I've been curious about them ever since I heard them on the news and read them on the internet.

Did you know? (you probably do)

..that the NAIA Terminal 3 is finally open after 6 years of being put on hold..
..that the Clark-Tarlac part of SCTEx is going to open on July 25, 2008..
..that the LRTA has a lot of projects going on..
..that the Northrail project might still push through despite the controversies..
..that there are other projects that I do not know of.. hehe..

Well, I hope all of these projects finish and hopefully be beneficial for the Filipino people in the long run.

About SCTEX and other Government Infrastructure Projects

Ever since I learned about the construction of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway or SCTEX, I've been curious about it. Last Holy Week, I discovered that they soft opened it to ease the traffic since a lot of people were going north for the long holiday.

At that time, on our way to Baguio, I didn't know that SCT stood for Subic-Clark-Tarlac so I didn't dare use the highway fearing that we might end up going in the wrong direction. After I came back from Baguio, I googled it and found several information about SCTEX.

Now this is what I know about SCTEX:

• It's a 93.77 kilometer highway which is divided into two sections.
• The Subic-Clark section stretches 50.5 kilometers.
• The Clark-Tarlac section stretches 43.27 kilometers.
• It costs over Php27 billion to construct.
• It's to officially open by mid-April this year.

More information can be found here. But I wasn't able to find the information that I wanted. Since we travel mostly to Baguio, I was trying to find out if I could take the SCTEX so that I could skip the traffic in the Tarlac area. I basically wanted to know where in Tarlac the SCTEX ends.

Anyway, I also heard that SCTEX will be extended up to La Union. I'm not aware of the timing though but if that happens, travel time to Baguio will definitely be faster. 3 hours maybe? Now that's something to look forward to. I hope it pushes through and that no controversies will come out of it.

While searching the net regarding SCTEX, I discovered that there are actually a lot of similar types of projects that the government is undertaking. The ones I found were:

• C-5 expressway project(NLEX-SLEX link)
• SLEX extension project (we all know this)
• Manila-Cavite toll expressway project(R-1 expressway extension)
• Northrail project

I hope all of these government projects finishes because all these infrastructures would really benefit our economy. I'm not a fan of President GMA but kudos to her for these projects. I just hope there won't be corruption involved. I wish!