Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 3) — San Miguel Corporation (SMC) said it has pushed back the opening of the Skyway Stage 3 to July for repair work after a major warehouse fire in Manila caused a portion of the toll road to collapse.
In a statement, SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang said round-the-clock construction would be in effect for the next five months to catch up with the new target, which is later than the planned April 1 opening.
“Rest assured, we will work 24/7 to endeavor to complete the entire project in five months. This is just a three-month delay from the original opening target,” Ang said. “What pains us is that we missed the opportunity to help motorists sooner with the opening of this road network.”
The fire that consumed a warehouse of the San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation along Tomas Claudio Street melted the foundation of a portion of the elevated expressway, which led to its collapse.
The ₱37.4-billion Skyway Stage 3 is an 18.68-kilometer elevated road that would serve as an alternative to EDSA, the capital’s busiest thoroughfare. The project, proposed by SMC’s unit CITRA Central Expressway Corp., has been tagged as one of the priority infrastructure projects by the Duterte administration.
Last week, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said the opening of the elevated toll road would be the key to decongesting EDSA by 20-30 percent later this year, and would also bring President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise of a five-minute drive from Cubao to Makati to fruition.
Villar said he expects about 100,000 cars plucked out of EDSA as motorists choose to pay a toll fee and use the Skyway for a faster and smoother trip across Metro Manila.
READ: Skyway from Buendia to Balintawak may charge ₱5 per kilometer – Villar
The conglomerate said the warehouse that burned over the weekend was actually set to be relocated out of Pandacan, as SMC clears its properties there to make way for the Skyway ramp and a planned integrated transport and food terminal in the area. The oil depot of its sister firm Petron Corporation had been pulled out of Pandacan much earlier.
SMC said its initial investigation showed that the fire likely eliminated from a nearby DMCI construction yard and spread to the plastics warehouse. D.M. Consunji Inc. refuted this claim on Tuesday, saying that the fire started outside their work area. Citing a report from the Bureau of Fire Protection, the property firm said the fire at the SMC plastics warehouse raged for 30 minutes before the construction yard itself was enguled in flames.
Meanwhile, authorities said the metal works inside the warehouse may have caused the fire, while the raw materials used in making plastic pallets led to the thick, black smoke.
