San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has officially submitted an unsolicited proposal to the Department of Transportation for an elevated toll road on EDSA. Requirements for the 10-lane expressway above Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue have also been included in the proposal. The aim of this is to ease the traffic along congested roads and routes in Metro Manila.
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SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang first spoke about his plans for the elevated tollway in September. He explained that the roads would stretch from Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City to Balintawak, Quezon City.
Construction of the tollway is estimated to take 24 to 30 months, and it will be patterned after those in Japan. It will be charging tollway fees which will likely range from Php 150 to Php 200.
There has been no official word from the government on their reception of the proposal. However, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo referred to it as a ‘beautiful proposal’ back in September.
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“Have you read about Ramon Ang’s proposal, iyong elevated? I was talking to him last night, ang ganda ng proposal niya [his proposal is beautiful],” he said.
Panelo also mentioned that Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade welcomed the proposal but advised that it would first have to gain approval from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
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