The Toll Regulatory board should drop the Parex

THE Pasig River Expressway (Parex) project of SMC Infrastructure was approved by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) in September 2021 with only scant and preliminary technical and financial information. The project involves the construction of a six-lane, 19.4-kilometer elevated expressway above the Pasig River, a massive undertaking. The TRB approval was made without any consideration of the social, environmental and economic impacts, including those on priceless built heritage located near the Pasig River. It appears anomalous that a project of this magnitude was approved without a comprehensive feasibility study and without the normal review and scrutiny by the Investment Coordination Committee of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).