CALOOCAN CITY, Sept. 5 (PIA) -- Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque on Friday dismissed as erroneous some reports that claimed "white sand" is being used to fill the stretch of the Manila Bay baywalk.
In his Malacañang media briefing, Roque said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has guaranteed that “crushed dolomite boulders” is being used for the project.
The official clarified that the said project is still part of the rehabilitation of the Manila Bay that has started before the health crisis hit.
“This forms part of the cleaning up of the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program with an allocated budget, which began even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Roque added.
On Thursday, the DENR has started mobilizing a fleet of earth-movers and other heavy equipment and started pouring what looked to be white sand, similar to that of popular beach destination Boracay, on a 500-meter stretch of the bay’s naturally gray shoreline in Manila, near the Baywalk strip along Roxas Boulevard.
The project is part of the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program launched by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu in January 2019 to save the bay from decades of pollution and urban blight, as ordered by the Supreme Court.
The said project is estimated to cost around P397.9 million, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways for the “beach nourishment, coastal restoration and enhancement of the Manila Baywalk area.”
The DENR hopes to complete the project by Sept. 19, in time for International Coastal Cleanup Day. (PIA NCR)
Read more: https://ift.tt/322bQAZ
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
0 Comments