ADB to finance construction of elevated walkways along EDSA

Elevated walkways for Manila to rise along EDSA

MANILA – The Philippine government will soon build safe, wide, well-lit and disaster-resilient elevated walkways for pedestrians along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a US$123 million loan.

In a statement released last Tuesday, the ADB said the EDSA Greenways Project is expected to help the government construct five kilometers of covered walkways which will be linked to mass transit stations along EDSA, the Balintawak, Cubao, Guadalupe and Taft stations. The 5-meter-wide structures, with elevators and monitoring systems, will be accessible for pedestrians, the elderly, pregnant women, young children and people with disabilities.

“The EDSA Greenways Project is an integral part of the government’s transport strategy to make Metro Manila a better place to live, work and visit,” said ADB’s Southeast Asia Transport and Communications Director Hiroaki Yamaguchi. The ADB official said the project is an important part of their contribution to helping make that vision a reality for Filipinos.

The project is part of the government’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure development program aimed at boosting public spending on infrastructure to attract investments and provide improved connectivity and spur economic growth.

More Filipinos are expected to switch from private to public transport which will be strengthened with North-South Commuter railway, the Metro Manila subway and the improved Light Rail/Metro Rail Transit systems. The project will be built with cutting-edge technology for cantilever overhead walkways at the same time lowering CO2 emissions.

According to the ADB, Metro Manila is considered the most congested city in terms of population, land area, and length of road networks according to the Bank’s 2019 Asian Development Outlook. The annual average daily traffic on EDSA reached 405,882 vehicles in 2019, up about 6% from 383,828 in 2018 per data from the Metro Manila Development Authority.

The project will also be supported by a US$15 million loan from the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) Catalytic Green Finance Facility, which will be administered by ADB. (Melo M. Acuña)

Design image of the elevated walkways on EDSA up for construction as the Asian Development Bank approved US$123 million loan. (ADB image)