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Ramon Ang speaks at the 16th Nikkei Global Management Forum in Tokyo, Japan.
Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
San Miguel Corp.—controlled by Ramon Ang—will invest 95 billion pesos ($1.9 billion) to build a 19.4-kilometer elevated highway along the banks of the historic Pasig River.
The project, which was approved by the government this week, entails the construction of a six-lane elevated road that will connect the Philippine capital of Manila to the upcoming Southeast Metro Manila Expressway in Taguig, San Miguel said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This will be an inclusive, user-centered infrastructure that will integrate various modes of transportation beyond cars,” said Ang, 67, president of San Miguel. “It will have dedicated bike lanes, walkways, a bus rapid transit system, among others.”
To be designed by architect Felino Palafox Jr., the Pasig River expressway will be a sustainable infrastructure that will will have multiple uses and direct environmental, social, and economic impact, Ang said. “It will rehabilitate the Pasig River and inspire urban renewal in Metro Manila.”
San Miguel is separately undertaking the rehabilitation of Pasig River, with an additional investment of 2 billion pesos. Under the project, Ang said the company is also looking into expanding the river’s water ferry transport to link Metro Manila’s waterfronts such as Laguna Lake, Manila Bay and Marikina River.
A man fishes along the Pasig River near high-rise housing towers.
Veejay Villafranca/Bloomberg
Ang—who acquired most of his shares from the late tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. in 2012—transformed San Miguel from a brewer and food manufacturer into one of the country’s most diversified conglomerates with interests in real estate, oil refining, power generation and infrastructure.
His most ambitious project is the construction of a mega international airport—which will cost 740 billion pesos on a 2,500-hectare (25-million square meter) site in Bulacan province, about 40 kilometers north of Manila. When completed, the airport will be able to handle up to 100 million passengers annually, about three times the capacity of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country’s main gateway.
With a net worth of $2.3 billion, Ang ranked No. 9 on the list of the Philippines’ 50 Richest published earlier this month.