DPWH sets deadline for CLLEX

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is giving interested bidders a two-week extension to submit prequalification documents for the proposed P15 billion Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) connecting Tarlac to Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija.

In a Notice of Postponement, DPWH undersecretary Alfredo Tolentino said the submission of prequalification documents for the first phase of CLLEX scheduled on Jan. 19 has been called off due to the scheduled visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19.

Tolentino said the deadline for the submission or prequalification documents for the public private partnership (PPP) project has to be deferred as Malacañang has declared Jan. 15, 16, and 19 as special non-working days in the National Capital Region.

The deadline for the submission of prequalification documents has been postponed to Feb. 2.

Tolentino pointed out that some contractors and bidders have requested that they be given ample time to secure or acquire necessary documents from the country of origin due to the long Christmas holidays.

The first phase of the CLLEX project worth P14.9 billion would cover a 30.7-kilometer four-lane expressway stretching from Tarlac to Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija, while the second phase worth P14.2 billion covers 35.7 kilometer worth a twolane expressway from Cabanatuan City to San Jose City, in Nueva Ecija.

CLLEX forms an important lateral (east-west) link of an overall High Standard Highway network within the 200-kilometer radius from Metro Manila.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) would fund the construction of the 66.4-kilometer CLLEX, while operation and maintenance would be under the PPP scheme.

The proposed expressway would start at the end of the 94-kilometer Subic Clark Tarlac expressway (SCTEX) up to 88.85-km Tarlac – Pangasinan – La Union expressway (TPLEX).

The DPWH is also looking at extending the Jan. 14 deadline for the submission of prequalification documents for the P123 billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike project (LLEDP).