Posted on June 8, 2022
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 6) — The Pasig River clean-up project received a boost as more equipment from Japan arrived to help ramp up the extraction of waste and debris from the waterway.
The ₱2 billion rehabilitation project led by San Miguel Corporation aims to reduce flooding in Metro Manila by increasing the river’s hydraulic capacity, deepening shallow waters for better shipping vessel transport, and removing the river’s debris and garbage to revive marine life.
A statement from the conglomerate on Monday said SMC president and CEO Ramon S. Ang formally accepted the two new equipment from Hitoshi Nagasawa, the president of shipping company NYK, in a ceremony attended by Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Jonas Leones.
“We are deeply honored and thankful to receive this donation to boost our river rehabilitation operations at a time when heavy rains and typhoons threaten most Metro Manila cities with severe flooding,” Ang said.
RELATED: SMC lauded for dredging nearly 40% of Pasig River silt since June 2021
Aside from the donation, NYK will handle the maintenance costs of the powerful, high-capacity excavators.
Meanwhile, Nagasawa said he was “optimistic” that their relationship with SMC would allow them to “to seek more opportunities for the benefit of Filipinos and the Philippines.”
A separate statement from the Japanese Embassy quoted Ambassador Koshikawa as saying that he hoped the donation would foster stronger ties between the two countries.
“As 70 percent of crew members of Japanese international shipping lines are Filipino, I hope NYK’s dedication to promote a more intensified people-to-people exchange between Japan and the Philippines will set a precedent for more companies to follow,” he said.
According to SMC, dredging teams have extracted a total of 437,890 metric tons of silt and waste from Pasig River to date, while the company recently reached its 1 million metric ton target at the Tullahan River.
