MANILA, Philippines — The opening of San Miguel Corp.(SMC)’s Skyway Stage 3 project has been moved to July, three months later than the original completion date, following a fire that resulted in the collapse of a portion of the tollroad over the weekend.
SMC said it would take eight months to rebuild the portion of the road project that collapsed last Saturday, but the conglomerate has vowed to work double time to fast-track construction and make sure that Skyway Stage 3 opens by July.
“We are saddened by this unfortunate incident mainly because it will delay a vital infrastructure project that would have alleviated traffic woes of our motorists sooner,” SMC president and COO Ramon Ang said.
“But 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,” he said.
SMC earlier committed to rebuild the tollroad with the least delay on the projected completion.
The Skyway Stage 3, a project seen by the government as one of the major solutions to address traffic congestion at EDSA, was previously eyed to open by April.
The project was designed to eliminate choke points and provide motorists seamless connection between and north and south. The toll stretches from Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati and traverses through San Juan, Manila and Quezon City all the way to the North Luzon Expressway.
Once completed, it would reduce travel time to and from Buendia and Balintawak to only 15 minutes.
A fire broke out Saturday morning at a warehouse of San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corp.’s plastic plant in Manila.
SMC said its initial investigation showed that the fire was a freak accident that could have likely emanated from the DMCI construction yard that eventually spread to nearby plastics warehouse, which at that time was in the process of being relocated out of Pandacan.
SMC said the relocation is part of the company’s efforts to clear its properties in Pandacan, in consideration of Skyway and future projects.
The conglomerate has earlier completed the removal of subsidiary Petron Corp.’s oil depot facilities in the area.
“We continue to liaise with the concerned authorities to address all issues pertaining to the incident. It is fortunate that no one was harmed and we thank everybody who took the time to help fight the fire,” Ang said.