Pasig expressway project scrapped

SAN Miguel Corp. (SMC) has abandoned plans to build the Pasig River Expressway (Parex), given strong opposition to the project by environmental and conservation groups.

“You know, I am a businessman who, if I see that our countrymen do not want the project, I will not pursue [it],” San Miguel President and CEO Ramon Ang said in Filipino on Monday.

San Miguel President and CEO Ramon Ang. PHOTO BY: RENE H. DILAN

“I proposed [the] Pasig River tollway … but many people said they do not want it because it is against their sentiments or it is not good to look at or whatever,” he added.

“Did you hear if I pushed through with it? No, because we are very sensitive; we listen to the pulse of the nation.”

San Miguel wanted to build a 19-37-kilometer, six-lane and all-elevated expressway that would traverse the Pasig River. As proposed, it would start at Radial Road 10 in the city of Manila and end at the planned South East Metro Manila Expressway in the town of Taytay in Rizal province.

The direct link between the western and eastern parts of Metro Manila, the firm claimed, would help ease traffic on the metropolis’ main highways of EDSA and C-5 and other roads by providing an alternative route for motorists.

The project — estimated to cost P95.4 billion with another P4.142 billion to be spent for acquiring right of way — was to be built by a joint venture between San Miguel Holdings Corp. and state-owned Philippine National Construction Corp.

It would have added to the company’s portfolio of toll roads such as the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, Southern Tagalog Arterial Road, South Luzon Expressway, Skyway System and NAIA Expressway.

Ahead of the issuance of an environmental clearance, San Miguel held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Parex in 2021, and a supplemental toll operation agreement was also approved by Malacañang a year later.

The project was heavily criticized, with opponents citing issues such as violations of existing laws calling for the preservation of Intramuros, failure to consult local government units, and the environmental and health impact on the river and residents living along the proposed roadway.

San Miguel had sought to address the public disapproval, claiming that the toll road would not cover the Pasig River, would integrate other modes of transportation including bikeways, and that it would also be spending to clean up the heavily-polluted waterway.

Ang, whose San Miguel has just been awarded a P170.6-billion project to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, said he had moved to clean up several of Metro Manila’s rivers, such as the Pasig and the Tullahan.

San Miguel, he said, is “very sensitive to the opinion of the public. If the public thinks that it (the Parex project) is not good to (sic) the public welfare, we will not do it.”

San Miguel Corp. shares ended down P2, or 1.90 percent, at P103 apiece on Monday amid a 0.45-percent gain for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.