Tarlac: Thriving melting pot of Central Luzon
This once sleepy agricultural province is poised to become the next hot investment hub in the north. Dubbed the “melting pot of Central Luzon,” Tarlac has a rich history and culture, with its early settlers coming from four ethnic groups namely Pampangos, Ilocanos, Pangasinenses and Tagalogs—thus fostering various cultural practices as well as cuisines.
During the Spanish colonization, Tarlac was the last province to be organized by the Spanish central government. It also played a huge role in Jose Rizal’s quest for national reforms when he organized La Liga by gathering the ilustrados of Tarlac and other Central Luzon provinces.
NEW ROLE AS A GATEWAY
Now home to more than
1.5 million people, Tarlac has taken on a new role as a gateway to various Northern Luzon destinations, with access points to major expressways namely, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx); SubicClark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx); and Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEx).
The final section of the 88.9-kilometer TPLEx, which ran from Pozorrubio in Pangasinan to Rosario in La Union, was completed during the first year of pandemic in 2020.
The 8.2-km expansion of SCTEx, meanwhile, was completed in February last year. The extended road link was meant to
provide “better, faster and safer access to the economic zones,” government officials had said.
SCTEx also makes Tarlac accessible to the Clark International Airport, which is within the Clark Freeport Zone. With the Clark airport terminal project finally completed, the government’s goal to develop regional growth centers and decongest air traffic in Manila may soon be realized.
CLLEx, one of the newest highways in the north, has yet to be finished but a section from SCTEx and TPLEx to Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, was opened in July last year. CLLEx is seen to cut travel time between the cities of Tarlac and Cabanatuan to just 20 minutes from the previous 70. It is projected to accommodate some 11,200 motorists daily and help in the seamless delivery of goods and services.
Other major roads in the pipeline include the second phase of the diversion road linking Tarlac City to New Clark City in Capas town and that is expected to be completed by this year.
Aside from highways, other infrastructure projects included flood mitigation, farm-tomarket roads, bridges along local roads, water systems, school buildings, national buildings, multi-purpose buildings, daycare centers and health centers.
INVESTMENT DESTINATION
But from merely an entry point to some of the popular destinations and economic zones, Tarlac is now also positioning itself as the next property development hub as its infrastructure continues to improve, attracting big real estate developers to the province.
Towns such as Gerona have meanwhile started to tap its potential as an attractive investment destination. It boasts of a “strategic business location” while the local government has streamlined business permit application and renewal processes to ease doing business here. It is also now home to big manufacturing companies.
The macroeconomic targets of Central Luzon bode well for the investors. Based on the National Economic and Development’s projections, the region’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) is set to rise to as high as 7.3 percent this year.