Posted on July 31, 2012 09:38:36 PM [
BusinessWorld Online ]
ORTIGAS & CO. will open this week
a widened Meralco Ave. in Pasig City as it prepares the area for a planned
mixed-use development, officials said yesterday.
“The Meralco [Ave.] expansion is set
against the backdrop of transforming the site of the former Rizal Provincial
Capitol to be a vibrant, mixed-use development, Capitol Commons,” Joselito F.
Santos, Ortigas real estate division general manager, said in a statement
released yesterday at the launch ceremonies.
“[The widened portion] will probably
open this week. We’re just securing some permits from the city government,”
Sylvan John S. Monzon, commercial business development manager for Ortigas’
real estate division, told BusinessWorld in a separate interview yesterday.
Ortigas provided funding and for the
project, while the Pasig city government contributed logistical support, Mr.
Santos said.
The P19-million widening of Meralco
Ave. -- which borders one side of Capitol Commons -- broadened a 450-meter
stretch of the thoroughfare from Capt. Henry Javier Road to Shaw Boulevard to
22.2 meters from a previous 9.7 meters.
The road widening is seen to increase
Meralco Ave.’s vehicle capacity by 134% to about 4,215 vehicles during peak
hours versus a previous 1,800-vehicle limit, the statement noted.
This comes as traffic and pedestrian
volume in the area is likely to rise significantly in the next few years while
Ortigas’ P25-billion, 10-hectare Capitol Commons development is being
constructed.
In addition to pedestrian lanes, stone
and concrete sidewalks, three new lanes were constructed for northbound
vehicles, with each lane measuring 3.22 meters.
“A widened Meralco Ave. will pave the
way for a stable traffic flow and reduced travel time for motorists who use the
road to access St. Paul College [Pasig], University of Asia & the Pacific,
PhilSports Complex, and the Valle Verde Country Club,” Ortigas added.
Ortigas is the developer behind the
Valle Verde and Greenmeadows subdivisions, the Ortigas Center, as well as the
Greenhills Shopping Center. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente
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