Manila reclamation plan needs careful study

MANILA Mayor Joseph Estrada has fired his first salvo in the 2019 election campaign, promising vast numbers of new jobs and tens of billions of pesos in new tax revenues for the city if a contentious reclamation project he is backing along the city’s waterfront is built. Manila voters should weigh the implications carefully before deciding whether this is a campaign promise for which it would be worth voting Estrada back to office for another term.

Estrada is facing a tough three-way battle to retain his seat in City Hall against his former vice mayor, Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, and former mayor Alfredo Lim.

Estrada made the promise after signing a Memorandum of Agreement with Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto for the two cities “to cooperate with each other and extend mutual assistance” in their bids to launch four major reclamation projects along Manila Bay. Three of the four projects are in Pasay. The project in Manila, known as the “Manila Solar City,” is perhaps the most controversial.

Conceived by the Manila Goldcoast Development Corp., Manila Solar City would occupy three man- made islands covering 148 hectares and extending 1.3 kilometers into Manila Bay from the seaward side of the Manila Yacht Club along Roxas Boulevard. The mixeduse development is touted as a “smart city,” utilizing renewable energy sources and offering such features as people movers and pedestrian walkways separated from the streets. It would also include a large number of new retail establishments, new office space for BPOs and similar businesses, and a cruise ship terminal.

The developer and backers have claimed the project will revitalize Manila as a tourism and business destination, providing 500,000 new jobs and at least P50 billion a year for the city in tax revenue.

Opposition to the project has been fierce, however. Apart from the substantial alteration to the view along the city’s waterfront, opponents have pointed out that the project may aggravate flooding in the city, faces a significant seismic risk, would contribute to Manila’s already heavy traffic congestion, and is diverting city resources and attention from nearby districts like Malate and Ermita, which are in dire need of revitalization.

The Philippine Reclamation Authority ( PRA), despite publicly favoring it and claiming the support of President Rodrigo Duterte for it and reclamation projects in general, has dragged its feet on issuing a formal authorization for the start of construction.

While the proposed development may prove to be a good idea that should be pursued, the case for it has by no means been made yet. The claims to the amount of new tax revenue and number of new jobs it will provide could create big expectations that may be hard to deliver. For one thing, the number of new jobs alone hardly seems physically possible, as it would result in an area with a population density almost eight times greater than Manila’s, which is already the second-densest city in the the proposed cruise ship terminal is also questionable, as the cruise industry globally is coming under increasing

Likewise, legitimate concerns about the city government’s apparent giving up on revitalization efforts in the existing city to prioritize new high-end development have yet to be met with substantial plans for utilizing the anticipated windfall of new revenue.

If Mayor Estrada and his supporters are truly committed to the reclamation project, believe in its benefits and in the prospect of seeing it built as reasons to re- elect him, they should be prepared to provide real answers to the tough questions about it.