LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN—The Pangasinan Provincial Government represented by Governor Ramon V. Guico III and San Miguel Holdings Corporation president (SMHC) represented by business tycoon Ramon S. Ang, formally sealed the partnership for the implementation of the Pangasinan Link Expressway (PLEX) project through the signing of a Joint Venture Agreement and Tollway Concession Agreement last Oct. 19 at the Sison Auditorium here.

A campaign promise of Gov. Guico, the establishment of the PLEX will finally be realized after over a year of hard work of local officials and some key department heads of the provincial government and the proponents.

The implementation of the big impact project is expected to stimulate more economic activities in the province and spur the development of Pangasinan by increasing mobility and faster delivery of goods and services.

Referring to as “game changer” in the province’s genuine progress, the governor earlier stated that PLEX is a major infrastructure project that reinvents the transportation landscape, prioritizes accessibility of citizens to major towns and cities, magnifies business and livelihood opportunities, multiplies economic activities, builds more infrastructures, facilitates province-wide travel and protects environmental resources.

“This is our way of increasing our inland connectivity to facilitate the movement of people, goods, and services. This is also our answer to the problem of traffic congestion,” Gov. Guico disclosed in his first State of the Province Address (SOPA) last March.

The SMHC was the only company that submitted to the provincial government a complete unsolicited joint venture proposal for the expressway project, a 42.76 km four-year project costing P34 billion.

Once completed, the expressway will reduce travel time from Binalonan town to the capital town of Pangasinan which is Lingayen, from an hour and 40 minutes to only around 20 to 30 minutes.

Project segments will be from Binalonan to Manaoag, 6.9 km; Manaoag to Calasiao, 11.3 km; Calasiao spur, 2.39 km; and Calasiao to Lingayen, 22.7 km.

Aside from easier mobility, PLEX will become a revenue-generating project for Pangasinan as the province will be entitled to five percent in the toll revenues and commercial development of the expressway.

Also, the province will be entitled to 30 percent of the earnings before tax after the proponent has surpassed a project’s internal rate of return of 10 percent. If it exceeded the project internal rate of return of 12 percent, Pangasinan will get a share of 70 percent earnings before tax.

The Binalonan-Lingayen segment will be the first phase while the Lingayen-Alaminos City will be the second phase of the project.

Establishment of major projects such as the PLEX is a fulfillment of the unifying vision that by 2031, “Pangasinan is the premier province of great opportunities, sustained economic growth, and a place where one can experience life at its best.”

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