Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC) said it remained committed to build the P95-billion Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) as a safe, reliable and sustainable infrastructure.
In a statement, SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said the 19.37-kilometer road will link the eastern and western sections of Metro Manila--from Rizal province to the City of Manila.
It will also complement the firm’s P2 billion, five-year rehabilitation effort for the historic tributary that already started in July last year to mitigate its impact on the environment.
“In all our major infrastructure projects, we always take into consideration the effects on the environment, putting greater emphasis on how we can build the infrastructure while at the same time preserve or enhance the environment,” said Ang.
He added that, “We engage all stakeholders and in particular, partner with local communities to ensure environmental measures and mitigations are successful for the long-term.”
PAREX will be a hybrid infrastructure that can be used by motorists, public transport, cyclists, and pedestrians, to further enhance accessibility and traffic decongestion, while encouraging multiple modes of transportion. Its design will also incorporate green architecture principles.
Ang said the country’s top urban planner and green architect Felino Palafox Jr., through his firm, Palafox Associates, has signed on to help with the sustainable design for the project.
“We share the vision of SMC and Mr. Ramon S. Ang for sustainable infrastructure. For many decades we have been emphasizing green architecture and green urbanism in our projects in the Philippines and abroad,” said Palafox.
He noted that, “For the PAREX project, our approach will be the same, we are designing not just infrastructure, but an urban landscape. We are promoting sustainability through architecture, with a holistic vision.”
“Mr. Ang already has so many good ideas, including incorporating green modes of transportation. Our job is make sure these ideas--pedestrian pathways, bicycle highways, landscaped planting strip, public transport, are integrated seamlessly into the PAREX,” Palafox added.
“We believe that if done right and in line with sustainability and green architecture principles, the PAREX will be a model road infrastructure that further democratizes the benefits and convenience of infrastructure. These are the types of infrastructure we will need in the future--adaptable to the growing and changing needs of our people,” Ang said.
He also touted plans to put up a Bus Rapid Transit on the PAREX and the existing Skyway system, which will interconnect, completing the north-to-south and east-to-west connection throughout Metro Manila.
This will enable faster, more reliable, safer, comfortable and affordable commutes for many Filipinos, said Ang adding that, with this, people will spend less time in stand-still traffic, which exacerbates pollution.
Meanwhile, Ang reported that SMC’s ongoing Pasig River clean-up initiative has already yielded some 295,260 metric tons of silt and solid waste since it started middle of last year.
SMC maintains its target daily output of at least 2,000 metric tons of waste, to meet the monthly target of at least 50,000 metric tons, for a total of 600,000 metric tons extracted every year.