ADB approves assistance for Estero de Paco

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a technical assistance package worth $220,000 to continue improvements in Estero de Paco.

According to Javier Coloma Brotons, urban development specialist at ADB, the technical assistance was approved last August 8.

It will fund environmental studies and capacity building of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC).

The PRRC, composed of representatives from the public and private sectors, is tasked to ensure the rehabilitation of Pasig River to make it conducive for transport, recreation and tourism.

Brotons said feasibility studies were scheduled to start by mid-November.

The ADB website showed that the project aims to develop a design for a sustainable facility that would improve water quality in the esteros of Pasig River.

“Once the studies [are] complete, technology piloting to improve water quality in the estero at small scale will follow,” Brotons said.

He added that further support would be determined based on the results of the studies and the pilot project.

The ADB said that the Pasig River had become a destination of waste materials due to the influx of population brought about by industrialization and urbanization of Metro Manila.

It added that the project would be guided by the series of measures that had been implemented to improve the environmental condition of the two-kilometer tributary.

The rehabilitation of the Pasig River system is seen to ease flooding in the metropolis given that it is one of the major catchment areas for rainwater, reports said.