Two leading real estate companies — Eton and Alveo — along with the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and the local governments of Quezon City and Pasig City, inaugurated Monday night Parklinks Bridge, a 110-meter long and 25-meter wide bridge linking the two cities over the Marikina river.
Parklinks Bridge is envisioned to be a feature in a sustainable community kept open for people to enjoy — whether this be a park, a promenade, an outdoor cafe. This is going to be a recreational space not just for Pasig City but for Quezon City as well.
Alveo Land president Robert Lao thanked the two local government units for allowing them to develop a green urban estate within a 35-hectare property.
"We are grateful to the LGUs for partnering with us and allowing us to turn this vision into reality through our joint development partners," Lao said during the inauguration and ceremonial lighting of the new Parklinks Bridge.
"Both parties believe that it is important to find a balance between profitability and sustainability. And our shared belief is — let us create an estate that will introduce a new way of urban living," he added.
Private sector partnership with LGUs
This bridge, Lao said, is an example of a private sector partnership with local government units that contribute to nation-building, a union of two cities and two companies that share a common goal.
"I hope this continues to be a fruitful partnership and I wish all of us success in our future endeavors," he added.
Eton Properties Philippines executive director Kyle Tan, for his part, underscored the many strengths of said partnership.
"We want the people to be able to have the best of both worlds in the sense that we want them to have the convenience of living in a highly urbanized location without feeling (traffic) congestion," he said.
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto congratulated all the stakeholders who have been involved in this project.
"To us, this bridge project signifies the sustainable growth and development of this property," Sotto said.
Last big open space
Sotto added, "This is not just the development of any property, but to the City of Pasig — when you look at this property what you're actually seeing is the last big open space in our city. I'm glad that when I was talking to your executives and your team in charge of planning and development of the estate, we were happy to hear that we will be maintaining a lot of open spaces. That means they will not build and use up the land for buildings."
Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto also expressed the city's appreciation for the construction of Parklinks Bridge, saying that "this will lead to places where there are endless possibilities and opportunities."
