San Miguel no longer pursuing Parex—ang

SAN Miguel Corp. (SMC) has dropped its plan to build the Pasig River Expressway (Parex), a multibillion-peso project that would have spanned 19.4 kilometers along the river’s banks.

Ramon S. Ang, the company’s president, said the diversified conglomerate has decided against pursuing the project.

“I am the kind of businessman that when I see that our countrymen do not like the project, I won’t continue with it,” he said in a press briefing on Monday.

In 2021, SMC signed a supplemental toll operations agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOTR) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the construction of the P81.53-billion Parex.

The supplemental agreement would have given SMC a 30-year franchise to build and operate the 19.4-kilometer Parex along the Pasig River banks within 36 months, connecting the eastern and western parts of the metropolis.

Parex entailed the construction of a 19.40-kilometer, sixlane elevated expressway along the banks of the river. The expressway will have started from Radial Road 10 (R10) in the City of Manila and will have ended at a connection to the South East Metro Manila Expressway, otherwise known as Circumferential Road 6 (C6). It was seen to reduce travel time from Manila to Rizal to just 15 minutes.

It is aimed to provide an alternative and faster access to the country’s largest business districts—makati, Ortigas, and BGC. Parex would have generated 200,000 direct and indirect jobs during its construction phase and throughout operations.

However, as “many people opposed it,” SMC decided to let go of the project.

Ang quipped that he sounded like a politician, but noted that the company is “listening to the public opinion.”

“We are very sensitive to the opinion of the public. If the public thinks that it is not good for the public welfare, we will not pursue it.”