Until the last few decades, riverside development in Southeast Asia has been limited to functional uses like warehousing or industry. Rivers were used as highways for the transport of goods from and to ships at ports downstream. Watersides housed godowns (warehouses) in Singapore, Melacca, Hong Kong and Manila. Eventually, these sites deteriorated as modern ports were built.
In Manila, the muelles (or quays, as they are called in Commonwealth countries) were abandoned as the South and North Harbor were developed. Industries set up by the Pasig in the first half of the 20th century for ease of goods transport. In the ‘50s they all moved downstream the Pasig and Marikina rivers as central Manila sought to keep pollution at bay.
From the ‘90s onwards even these industries along the rivers of Metro Manila started to move to Laguna and other provincial locations south and north of the city as truck transport took over the function of river barges. This has all led to the wonderful opportunity of riverside redevelopment that has been the trend in western cities and now in Asia.
Waterside redevelopments in Baltimore, Boston, San Francisco and San Antonio are well known to seasoned Filipino travelers. These cities took the cue from cities in Europe like Paris, Vienna and Amsterdam that have benefited from redevelopment along their water and riversides. The most expensive real estate is those lots and properties with views or access to the water. Amsterdam’s rivers are picturesque despite actually being part of that city’s flood control system.
Sydney took the lessons learned from all these cities and redeveloped Darling harbour. Melbourne did the same thing with their Yarra River and both are key reasons why millions of tourists visit those two cities. In Asia Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore are prime examples of cities that have turned their waterfronts and riversides from derelict zones to the best new urban destinations in the world.
Such redevelopment, which all use proper engineering to ensure that the rivers or waterfronts they sit beside are not compromised, is not limited to large metropolises. Malacca in Peninsular Malaysia and Kuching in Sarawak, East Malaysia both have redeveloped their rivers and esteros and sparked proper development in their respective cities.
In Manila, the Pasig River has been slowly rehabilitated along the same lines. Purging the river of pollutants is a major obstacle despite some successes. Singapore cleaned theirs in ten years (but then the Singapore River is only two kilometres long, or one tenth the length of the Pasig). Both sides of the Singapore River are now sites for up-market mixed use development. Many Pinoy’s have visited Boat, Clark and Robertson Quays and experienced their attractions day and night. (In the 90s I was involved in Robertson Walk, one of the key developments there.)
Here in Metro Manila, the same strategies of river-cleaning and riverside improvements can be applied to energize whole districts and provide wonderful options for residential and commercial development. Some developers already are doing this. With proper design, planning and engineering, these new developments address the needs of modern living by the water, without compromising environmental concerns on the river and the areas they pass through.
Our rivers and the whole metropolis are victims of climate change and improper development. Some people have turned to blaming established real estate developers as contributing to our recent bout of flooding problems. One of these developments is Circulo Verde, a project of the Ortigas & Company.
Ortigas, with a track record of close to half a century of modern development, has been targeted recently with a spate of accusations that impact on the capacity of the Marikina to accommodate flood waters. Ortigas makes for a great target since they are contrasted against the informal settlers who locate themselves along the easements of our rivers and esteros. These informal settlers’s homes do sit within those easements and do contribute to restricting the sections of river or esteros where they are. This is a given, since the government does not give them access to affordable housing near where they can earn a living.
Ortigas is being painted by some as typical of private developers who use their economic influence and wherewithal to usurp public property (riverside easements) for private gain. Their mixed-use development, Cirulo Verde, located on Calle Industria, along the Quezon City stretch of the Marikina River, has been blamed for part of the flooding woes of the area. I spoke with Ortigas officials and reviewed media interviews involving officials from Marikina, the DPWH and engineering consultants of the project.
The prime contention was that Circulo Verde has reclaimed land on the easement of the river. I checked the site myself and also studied the original plans and maps and saw that Ortigas had kept within the bounds of their property lines. I even checked archival maps circa 1904, which shows the configuration of the entire Hacienda de Mandaloyon (what the area was originally called) and these clearly show that the area of Circulo Verde has always been configured that way. Ortigas never reclaimed.
Apparently people had noticed exposed earth near the edge where the company was improving their side of the riverbanks. This turns out to be silt that had accumulated over the decades. Ortigas, in fact, is spending over P300 million to construct a river wall and dredge the silt clear of the site, thus actually improving the river’s flow along their property. This wall is designed to prevent further siltation of the river and improve the flow of the river.
From all evidence and after referring to their master plan, put together by reputable consultants that included DCCD, the country’s premier engineering firm, Ortigas obviously has not, nor plans to build anything beyond the bounds of its property. The development, will actually improve the flow of the river and this will help reduce flooding upstream. The company also had a third party –the UP National Hydraulics Center’s Dr. Guillermo Tabios III, check the soundness of the engineering.
In addition to this, the Metro Manila Development Authority has been desilting the area and removing dirt and accumulated mud around the perimeter of the property. This, along with the improvements being done by Ortigas will improve flows and the capacity of the river. All these will not cause the bottleneck being blamed on the development, but the exact opposite. All these points to the fact that Ortigas & Co. is not enlarging the boundaries of its property.
The DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson reportedly mentioned that the government, in fact, saved money from the construction of the riverwall, since the government was intending to construct it in any case. The money saved from Ortigas’ initiative can therefore be used to improve the flood control measures in the upstream part of the river.
Imagine then if all those who develop on the lands beside the river, follow a stringent strategy of proper engineering and design. Unfortunately improper development still persists along the banks upstream and downstream. The problems of flooding are complex and the context is huge, tracing the key roots of the problem to the deterioration or loss of mountain forest cover in the Sierra Madres, the increasing haphazard urbanization of the metropolis, solid and liquid waste management issues, and the challenges of informal settlements.
Ortigas & Company has over 80 years of experience in real estate development. It is a conservative but forward-looking company that does everything by the rules. In fact it sets parameters more stringent than required by law and invests in the benefits that accrue from proper design and a vision for a better tomorrow.
Feedback is welcome. Please email the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com.