House Committee on Ways and Means chairman and Albay 2^nd District Representative, Joey Salceda, said that a toll road connecting the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) all the way to Albay will lower transport costs, improve supply chains, and produce thousands of jobs in the region.

The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has recently announced that the approval process of the final engineering design of the SLEX Toll Road (TR) 5 is already underway, with the initial segment stretching from Lucena City to Gumaca in Quezon.

“Along with ongoing works for [SLEX] TR4, the Lucena-Gumaca segment will bring much-needed relief to commuters and truckers alike, and will reduce the cost of bringing goods to Bicol significantly,” said Rep. Salceda. “The lack of strong land transport links to CALABARZON effectively makes Bicol an island, which makes us vulnerable to stress on food and supply of other essential goods during emergencies. It also makes our supply chains with Manila very expensive to maintain.”

If constructed, this toll road will strengthen links to the new Bicol Eco Zone in Libon, Albay, which was recently approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. The Bicol Eco Zone combined with the agriculture “superport” that is being planned by the Department of Agriculture in the region, could create up to 8,000 new jobs and lower the food prices in Albay, added Salceda.

_{A portion of SLEX TR4}

SMC "preferred" to construct new expressway

Salceda says that he will push for the construction of the new Bicol expressway, together with another segment that would connect the region’s two largest cities: Naga and Legazpi.

“The Naga-Legazpi portion has a catchment area of around 2.2 million people, including the two largest cities in South Luzon. I think RSA (Ramon S. Ang) can pursue and operate that segment in advance so that we don't have to wait for the completion of the emptier parts between Gumaca and Sipocot,” said Salceda.

In addition to improving Bicol’s supply lines, especially during emergencies, a new toll road would also improve access to Bicol International Airport – not only boosting tourism and businesses in the region but also making international flights more accessible to Bicolandia.

Salceda also said that he will be asking Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon to explore this option and possibly, to accelerate the project.