Parañaque seeks immediate OK of Manila Bay reclamation

MANILA, Philippines – The local government of Paranaque is urging government agencies to expedite the reclamation and development of 600 hectares of land along Manila Bay.

Mayor Edwin Olivarez said both the cities of  Parañaque and Pasay government have already awarded the 600-hec-tare property to the SM Group.

The local government of Parañaque approved last year SM’s proposal to reclaim 300 hectares of land within the city’s jurisdiction.

“The ball is now with the national government to finally proceed with the reclamation works,” Parañaque City administrator Fernando Soriano said.

However, the SM Group’s combined 600-hectare reclamation projects in Pasay and Parañaque require an endorsement from the Philippine Reclamation Authority as well as final approval of the National Economic and Development Authority board.

Sec. 1 of Executive Order 146 states that the Philippine Reclamation Authority or formerly the Public Estates Authority, will continue to process, evaluate and recommend the approval of all proposed reclamation projects to the NEDA board.

PRA oversees all reclamation activities in the country for the government.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. chairman Henry Sy Jr. cited the slow process in the country’s bureaucracy as reason for the delay of the P100 billion reclamation project.

Sy said they decided to venture into reclamation projects because Metro Manila was already densely populated.

SM Prime contracted AECOM Technology Corp., the world’s largest engineering design company, to do an integrated master plan for the two projects.

The project would complete the commercial and residential developments in the area and would take time an estimated three to five years to complete the land reclamation process.

Soriano described the proposed reclamation area as stretching “from the boundary of Pasay and Parañaque in the north, to the seawall projection of the...Tan Yu/Asia World Reclamation in Brgy. Don Galo in the south.”