THE controversial Pasig River Expressway (Parex) project remains a "live project" as proponent San Miguel Corp. has said that it would comply with all requirements for an environmental clearance, the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) said.

After declaring in March that the P81.53-billion tollway would not push through given significant opposition, San Miguel President and CEO Ramon Ang last month said that the project was "on hold" while the conglomerate moved to address environmental issues.

"San Miguel wrote that they will comply with the requirements vis a vis environmental clearance certificate," TRB Executive Director Alvin Carullo said.

"As of now, they are not abandoning the project. As of now, it is a live project."

San Miguel, Carullo said, has until October to submit a final engineering design certified by an independent consultant.

The project could start construction next year, he added.

San Miguel officials were not immediately available for comment.

Carullo in May said that Parex was "technically... still on the table because they (San Miguel) have not given the confirmation that they are terminating the contract or the project."

Ang subsequently told reporters that "we're not [withdrawing our proposal]; if there is a withdrawal, there might be a violation."

"We are trying to address it (environmental concerns), so it is on hold for now," he added.

In March, Ang had said: "...I am a businessman who, if I see that our countrymen do not want the project, I will not pursue [it]," acknowledging concerns ranging from the project's impact on communities, the river itself and heritage sites, and questions regarding the project's design.

Carullo in May said that the TRB, the implementing agency for the project, had given the conglomerate six months from March to send an official notice about its plans.

A few days before Ang said that the Parex would not push through, the TRB received a letter from Pasig River Expressway Corp. asking for a six-month extension of the deadline to submit a final engineering design to address concerns raised by environmental groups and critics of the project.

The Parex is a 19.37-km six-lane, all-elevated expressway that will traverse the Pasig River from Radial Road 10 in Manila to a connection with the proposed South East Metro Manila Expressway at Circumferential Road 6.

Critics claim that it would disrupt the ecology of the river, harm communities along its path, and also degrade heritage sites such as the walled city of Intramuros.

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