Shipping and logistics company NYK Line of Japan has joined San Miguel Corp. (SMC) in its multi-billion initiative to rehabilitate the Pasig and Tullahan-Tinajeros River systems, and undo years of toxic and waste contamination that have made these waterways among the world’s biggest contributors to ocean pollution.
NYK will donate $1.5 million over a five-year period to buy additional equipment needed for the project.
The donation was formalized during a virtual ceremony attended by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary Roy Cimatu, NYK Line president Hitoshi Nagasawa and SMC president Ramon S. Ang.
SMC and NYK have had no previous professional dealings.
NYK’s donation will be coursed through the San Miguel Foundation and will go towards the acquisition of additional equipment to be used for targeted river dredging and clean-up operations.
NYK is one of Japan’s largest shipping firms, with operations in liner trade, air cargo transportation, logistics, and bulk shipping, as well as real estate. Some 70 percent of its seafarers are Filipino.
SMC is spending P1 billion for the clean-up of the 27-km. Tullahan-Tinajeros river. Since June 2020, the company’s dredging teams have already removed 533,498 metric tons of silt and solid waste from an 11-kilometer stretch spanning the river’s sections in Navotas, at the mouth of Manila Bay, to Malabon, and Valenzuela.
SMC has committed P2 billion for its Pasig River rehabilitation effort, which officially began in July of this year. It has already removed over 100,000 tons of waste from its two pilot areas, along Pandacan, and near the Malacanang Palace, in Manila.
