MMDA acting Chairman Romando Artes (PNA file photo)
MANILA – The newly inaugurated Pasig River Urban Development (PRUD) project will revitalize the Pasig River and its surroundings by improving water quality and building concrete structures with green spaces.
In his speech at the inauguration ceremony of the showcase area of the PRUD on Wednesday, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) acting Chairman Romando Artes said the project is a priority of the Marcos administration under the guidance of First Lady Marie Louise Marcos.
The project is funded with “minimum financial exposure” through assistance from the private sector.
It consists of initiatives that will rehabilitate and enhance the quality of life along the banks of the Pasig River, its tributaries and surrounding communities.
“[The PRUD] sends a powerful message that we are committed to creating a metropolis where every resident can thrive and where nature and development can coexist harmoniously,” Artes said.
The project began through Executive Order (EO) No. 35, series of 2023 that constituted the Inter-Agency Council for the PRUD (IAC-PRUD) and was signed into law on July 25, 2023.
The IAC-PRUD is led by Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jerry Acuzar, Artes as vice chair, and its members consist of Marcos’ cabinet.
Earlier, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the MMDA announced the establishment of a housing area for informal settlers and a linear park along the easement of San Juan River —one of the tributaries of Pasig River.
The housing project is expected to benefit 3,000 families while the linear park in Barangay Batis will be used to sustain solid waste management practices along the waterways.
Aside from greeneries, the park will house material recovery facilities, rain harvesting facility and a sewage treatment plant that will ensure the water from San Juan River to Pasig River is clean. (PNA)
