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NEW P9.4-B BULACAN-NUEVA ECIJA HI-WAY SYSTEM

Cabanatuan City, May 26, 2000 - Four agencies led by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are now coordinating with the city government for the construction of a P9.4 billion new urban highway system spanning the provinces of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija.

CabanatuanCity Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara said the inter-urban highway system will be financed under the Development Study Program of the Japanese overnment's grant-in-aid and technical cooperation project.

The proposed road system will consist of two four-lane bypass highways which will begin in Plaridel, Bulacan and in this city and end in San Jose City. The project is expected to begin in October 2002 and finish in December 2010.

A feasibility study conducted by JICA and jointly commissioned with the Department of Public Works and Highways, Katahira & Engineers International and the Yachico Engineering Co. Ltd.. showed that Cabanatuan now has twice as many vehicles as its existing roads could accomodate.

The ensuing traffic situation, the study added, has caused a slowdown in business.

Cabanatuan has at least 48,000 vehicles, a fifth of which are tricycles.

To help ease traffic flow, some 7.3 kilometers of new access roads will be opened under the plan.