A transport depot worth P34.4 million – expected to serve thousands of commuters daily at the Clark Freeport and nearby areas – is now being constructed by the Clark Development Corporation at the back of the SM City Clark in Angeles City.
The depot, where passenger jeepneys, taxis, and buses will be stationed, will provide an efficient public transport facility and passenger terminal and help ease growing traffic at the Main Gate area, according to Engr. Teresito Tiotuyco, Clark Development Corporation (CDC) Assistant Vice President for Technical Services.
he project, he said, would be directly linked to the soon-to-be-completed Clark-Mabalacat-Angeles Road (CMAR).
The project, expected to be completed before the end of the year, has 342 parking slots for jeepneys and taxis, 18 slots for buses, and some kiosks type spaces which would also be leased out for commercial ventures.
Tiotuico said the depot has a total land area of more than 4,100 square meters and could be vertically expanded should the volume of public transport increase in the future.
“This project, along with other road improvements in Clark, would be vital in keeping order and traffic flow in and around Clark. A little inconvenience may be experienced by some during construction for which we apologize but the end result would be beneficial to the majority,” Tiotuyco said.
In order to minimize traffic in and around the Freeport, the CDC is also pursuing various road projects including the construction of a vital bridge along the P176-million CMAR, which was delayed for few weeks, and is now being finalized in order to open the road to vehicular traffic by October this year.
The six-kilometer, double lane road project was constructed as part of CDC’s commitment to help decongest traffic in the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat. It connects the existing terminal in Mabalacat Gate area to the transport depot at the SM area.
The CDC will also open a new side gate from the MA Roxas Highway leading to the Clarkview area along Don Juico St. in Angeles City. The new gate is seen to lessen vehicular traffic at the Main and Friendship Gates of this Freeport.
CDC has also received requests to help fund the construction and improvement of some peripheral roads in Barangay Malabanias, Angeles City that could help in the flow of traffic in communities near Clark.
The state-run agency is also looking at ways to help ease traffic at a busy intersection along MacArthur Highway that connects the Mabalacat Gate to the Sta. Ines entry and exit points of the NLEX.
All the road improvement projects are also being implemented to help prepare Clark in hosting some activities when Philippines host the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2017.