ERAP EYES 4TH RECLAMATION PROJECT, THIS TIME FOR POOR

The Manila City government may approve a fourth reclamation project under Mayor Joseph Estrada, depending on the recommendations of a Chinese real estate developer for a housing project for squatters.

The firm, Shanghai Nanjiang (Group) Co., LTD., will conduct a six-month study “concerning the urban housing situation in Manila” to help the city “provide a major mass housing project for 7,000 informal settler families living in esteros and other high-risk areas.”

“Depending on the results of the feasibility study, the Shanghai-based firm will commit to put up low-cost housing projects in the city, including the possibility of reclaiming a portion of Manila Bay, through a joint venture agreement with the city government,” Estrada said in a statement.

The study will be of no cost to the city, he added. To seal the deal, Estrada signed a memorandum of understanding with the firm’s executive vice president Wang Xiaogang last week.

Manila has about 7,000 informal settler families living in “danger zones” such as esteros and other waterways, he said, adding that they “do not include thousands more who are occupying government and privately owned lots across the city.”

In February, Estrada approved a multibillion-peso reclamation project on the city’s section of Manila Bay for the development of a 407.42-hectare mixed-use commercial and tourism center.

Last year, Estrada and the Philippine Reclamation Authority approved another project, the P7-billion expansion of Manila North Harbor which would require the reclamation of another 50 hectares.

In 2013, he also approved the development of Solar City between the Philippine Navy headquarters and Manila Bay Yacht Club.