Water hyacinth covers the Pasig river in Guadalupe, Makati City, October 7, 2020, as thousands of them clog the waterway causing the Pasig river ferry to suspend operations on Tuesday.
INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is working on the final engineering design of the controversial Pasig River Expressway (PAREx), firming up its interest to build the tollway project that earned the ire of environmental groups due to potential harm to the waterways’ ecosystem.
Ramon Ang, president and CEO of SMC, told the media last week that they were finalizing the documents required to proceed with the construction of the 19.37-kilometer expressway.
The Toll Regulatory Board, to recall, gave the tollway operator until October this year to submit the project’s final design, which includes the new cost estimates to factor in inflation.
In addition, SMC would need to obtain an environmental clearance certificate (ECC), which attests that the project will have no significant adverse impact on the environment.
Concerns on project’s impact
In applying for an ECC, the conglomerate must present its environmental impact and management plan for the project.
The industry giant has drawn flak from advocacy groups, which raised concerns over the potential damage the tollway project can do to the environment.
The Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, for example, said in 2022 that PAREx would harm the river because it could block sunlight and adversely “affect the remaining food chain of Pasig River.”
Earlier, the civil society group Ilog Pasiglahin said preserving the Pasig River was critical as it is also connected to other bodies of water, including Manila Bay, Laguna de Bay, Marikina River, San Juan River and Taguig River.
“At the end of the day, when it (PAREx) is ready to build, we will call for a public consultation,” Ang said.
Portfolio of toll roads
The planned PAREx project is a six-lane expressway passing through the Pasig River from Radial Road 10 in Manila and the proposed South East Metro Manila Expressway at Circumferential Road 6.
SMC’s toll road portfolio includes the South Luzon Expressway, Skyway Stages 1, 2 and 3, Southern Tagalog Arterial Road, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx), Naia Expressway and Alabang South Skyway Extension.
Along with this, SMC is crafting the final designs for the Northern Access Link Expressway and Southern Access Link Expressway as well.
San Miguel broke ground for the TPLEx extension project in July. Construction is targeted to start next year.
In Southern Tagalog, the tollway operator is set to build the 88-km Cavite-Batangas Expressway and Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway, in partnership with Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. INQ