The Government of the Philippines has inaugurated the 7.64-km-long Arterial Road Bypass Project Phase III (ARBP III) contract package 4 in the Bulacan province which will reduce the travel time between Balagtas and San Rafael towns from 60 minutes to just 24 minutes.
This project is part of the 23-km-long ARBP III, which is one of the flagship projects under the government’s Build-Better-More Program. Plans call for the widening of the existing Plaridel Bypass Road in Bulacan from two lanes to four lanes. The PHP5.26 billion road project was financed in part by a PHP4.25 billion loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) while the remaining PHP1 billion project cost will be borne by the Government of the Philippines.
The entire ARBP III project, which includes the construction of 10 bridges and three flyovers, comprises four contract packages. Works under packages 3 and 4 have been concluded while those under packages 1 and 2 are more than 63 per cent complete as of September 2023. The entire project is scheduled to be concluded by March 2024.
