NEDA endorses P1.2-B PangasinanZambales road

MANGATAREM, Pangasinan: The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) has included the P1.2-billion Pangasinan-Zambales road among the priority projects the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will implement from 2017 to 2022.

The proposed 54-kilometer highway known as Kalikasan Road was a former logging area with potentials for development that can bring more tourists to southwestern Pangasinan, starting from Mangatarem.

Gov. Amado Espino Jr. said various businesses will be established here by local and foreign investors once the project is completed in 2022.

Likewise, Mayor Ramil Ventinilla expects to generate local income tax from eco-tourism as several investors have already visited and expressed plans to set up business here.

Pangasinan Second District Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil lauded the move to include his pet project when he attended the Economic Zone Summit for Pangasinan and La Union last week in Dagupan City.

He said the road will cut across vast tracts of idle lands between the two provinces and hundreds of hectares on the Pangasinan side can be tapped as economic zones.

Once the road is completed, travel time between the two provinces would be reduced to just one-and-a-half hour.