San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has put the Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) project on hold to address concerns raised by various environmental organizations.
“We’re not [withdrawing our proposal]. With a withdrawal, there might be a violation,” Ramon S. Ang, San Miguel Corp. president and chief executive, told reporters.
“We are trying to address them [environmental concerns] so it is on hold for now,” he quickly added.
In March, Ang said the PAREX project would not push through on account of concerns raised by some environmental and conservation advocates.
But TRB executive director Alvin Carullo said they have yet to receive official communication from San Miguel and its plan for the PAREX project.
Carullo said San Miguel has six months from March to send official communications to the TRB.
PAREX is a six-lane, 19.37-kilometer, all-elevated expressway traversing the Pasig River from Radial Road 10 in Manila to the proposed South East Metro Manila Expressway at Circumferential Road 6.
The project will connect and use a 2.7-km. portion of Skyway Stage 3 from Nagtahan to Plaza Azul.
SMC said it has spent P2 billion to clean up the Pasig River, built bicycle lanes and pedestrian walkways and incorporated a bus rapid transit system in the project.
Among SMC’s expressways are the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the Skyway System and the NAIA Expressway (NAIAX).
