Tourism potential on tech-aided Pasig River cleanup seen

Makati Mayor Nancy Binay said Tuesday that emerging cleanup technologies could advance long-stalled efforts to rehabilitate the Pasig River, a project she noted has been a persistent priority for agencies and local governments along the historic waterway.

Speaking during the ClearBot River Cleanup Showcase in Makati, Binay stressed that the river’s restoration has been a goal “for a long time.”

She recalled her previous calls, made while serving as the Senate tourism committee chair, for the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the Department of Tourism (DoT), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to launch a coordinated revitalization program.

Binay suggested that innovations like the ClearBot, an AI-powered electric vessel designed to collect waste in waterways, could pave the way for future cultural and heritage river tours.

She highlighted the Pasig River’s potential as a tourism corridor, citing famous Asian and European river cruise routes such as the Mekong, Yangtze, Rhine and Danube.

“Perhaps we will soon see a cultural and heritage conservation cruise, starting from the Circuit Contemporary Museum to Makati’s heritage hub of Poblacion, to Manila’s historical Intramuros because of our endeavor today,” Binay said.

The ClearBot AI project is a partnership among the Ayala Foundation, Inc., the Asian Development Bank, Metro Manila local government units, and the MMDA.

Sidhant Gupta, CEO and founder of Clear Robotics, said one of the technology’s main goals is to support workers who currently clean the waterways manually. The AI-powered vessel aims to reduce risks and limit manual cleanups by eliminating the need for workers to handle toxic waste from small boats, often putting their safety on the line.

“What we want to do is scale their ability,... give them the power to do more without having to do more work in the same amount of time, and that is our intention,” Gupta said.