Ramon Ang addresses criticisms vs. Pasig River Expressway project

San Miguel Corp. (SMC) president Ramon Ang on Friday addressed criticisms on the company’s proposed 19.37-kilometer Pasig River Expressway (PAREX).

The P95-billion PAREX project broke ground on Friday after it secured an approval from the government early this week.

Transport, environmental, and heritage groups have criticized the project over its impact to traffic and environment as well as being an eyesore to heritage structures along the Pasig River banks.

In a statement, Ang said, “This is a private investment. We will spend our own money, so we will not build something that will not be beneficial to the public.”

“We are not the type of people who will build something that will be bad for the public, the environment, and our country, for the sake of profits. In fact, we are investing a lot of money and other resources for these projects, even if the returns will take a while —because our country needs them,” he said.

The SMC chief alleged some sectors appear to be spreading misinformation about the project, claiming, among others, that it will cover the Pasig River.

“That is not true. This will be built on the side of the river, along the easement of the Pasig River to be exact. It will not cover the river. The posts for the project will only take up one meter of space, while the average width of the Pasig River is 200 meters,” Ang said.

The SMC chief added that as part of its rehabilitation efforts for the Pasig River, the company will widen and deepen the tributary in critical areas where the river has become too shallow, based on findings of a bathymetric survey conducted by the company.

Ang cited the area at the mouth of Marikina River and Manggahan River as examples, saying the depth of these sections have been reduced to just 1.5 meters, while the Pandacan and Manila Bay areas are only at two meters.

The ideal depth of the river is at least eight meters, he said, to allow for enough floodwaters to flow through, he said.

“From today throughout construction, we will clean up the river. We estimate to remove from three million metric tons of silt and solid waste. And even when we start operating the expressway, we will continue to dredge and clean-up the river because we know that no matter what, garbage will still make its way into the river,” Ang said.

“Also, we know that a lot of silt, sand, and dirt will still go into the river from the Sierra Madre mountains, via the Marikina river, so the river needs to be maintained. We are committed to continuously dredge and clean it up for the next 30 years,” he added. 

Apart from cleaning the Pasig River, Ang also said that the integration of green architecture principles and multiple modes of transportation will make PAREX an inclusive infrastructure project will benefit pedestrians, motorists, cyclists, and the environment.

“Through PAREX, we will solve traffic and congestion, provide jobs for thousands of Filipinos, boost productivity, improve people’s daily commutes, address flooding, and save the Pasig River itself. More than that, we can also encourage more people to be active and healthy. This is what it means to help make Metro Manila truly livable again,” he said.

The project to be fully-financed by SMC is seen to be a six-lane elevated expressway that will run along the banks of the river, from Radial Road 10 in Manila to C-6 Road or the South East Metro Manila Expressway (SEMME) in Taguig City.

Once operational, PAREX will link the eastern and western cities of Metro Manila and will connect to the Skyway system.—LDF, GMA News