SAN MIGUEL CORP. (SMC) said Tuesday that it hired the firm of Felino A. Palafox, Jr., an architect, environment planner, and green urbanism advocate, to participate in building the P95-billion Pasig River Expressway (PAREX).
“Together with Palafox and Associates, we will build what will be the country’s first sustainable infrastructure, one that will not just be ‘green’, but will have multiple uses and direct environmental, social, and economic benefits to Filipinos,” SMC President Ramon S. Ang said in a statement.
Mr. Palafox brings with him “decades of experience” as a master-planner of some 1,700 projects in 45 countries, according to the conglomerate.
The supplemental toll operations agreement for the 19.37-kilometer PAREX project was signed Tuesday.
The project is a six-lane elevated expressway that will run from Radial Road 10 in the City of Manila to Circumferential Road 6, also known as the future South East Metro Manila Expressway (SEMME) in Taguig. It will run along the banks of the Pasig River.
“PAREX will also be for pedestrians and cyclists. It will not just be for motorized transportation and convenience, but also for maintaining our health and well-being. It will not just ‘beautify’ the surroundings — it will rehabilitate the Pasig River and inspire urban renewal in Metro Manila,” Mr. Ang said.
SMC has allotted P2 billion to rehabilitate the Pasig River.
The conglomerate is also planning to expand water transport through ferries that will connect Metro Manila’s main waterways like Laguna de Bay, the Pasig River, Manila Bay, and the Marikina River.
At the toll road agreement signing ceremony, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, who has been in the initial list of senatorial candidates for 2022 of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, said he prefers that no toll hikes are implemented during the pandemic.
“Are we expecting increases at this time? Kung ako ‘ho ang masusunod, maaaring apruban ‘yung increase, pero ‘wag i-implement ngayon. Pagka’t kailangang balansihin ‘yung pangangailangan ng publiko sa pangangailangan ng mga negosyante (If it were up to me, increases might be approved but not immediately implemented. We need to balance the needs of the public with those of businesses),” Mr. Tugade said. — Arjay L. Balinbin
