San Miguel Corporation has confirmed that it will next tackle an ambitious project to connect the eastern and western portions of Metro Manila via the Pasig River Expressway Project (PAREX).
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange to confirm an earlier report in Manila Bulletin, SMC said it will finance, construct, operate, and maintain the PAREX project on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis at a cost of P95.4 billion.
SMC first announced the project in the middle of 2020.
PAREX is envisioned to be a 19.4-kilometer six-lane elevated expressway along the banks of the Pasig River that will connect Radial Road 10 (R10) in Manila, EDSA, and C5. It is planned to end at a connection to the Southeast Metro Manila Expressway at C6.
“At the same time, the PAREX project will decongest Rizal, Cainta, and Marikina, and provide an alternative access to the business districts of Makati, Ortigas, and Bonifacio Global (City),” SMC said in the disclosure.
The company hopes to complete the project by 2023.
A component of the project, according to the company, is the clean-up and dredging of the entire length of the Pasig River that will ultimately help in flood alleviation.
On Friday, SMC opened its latest high-profile project, the P44.86 billion Skyway 3 project that links the North Luzon Expressway with the South Luzon Expressway. It was a project that began in January 2014, through a Public-Private Partnership under the administration of then-President Benigno Aquino III.
President Rodrigo Duterte attended the official opening of the Skyway 3 project early on Friday.
San Miguel is also busy with the construction of the P736-billion New Manila International Airport in Bulacan.
