The recent fire in Pandacan, Manila that caused a section of the Skyway Stage 3 project to collapse was due to “hot work” being done by a sub-contractor atop a steel beam, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) said. The conglomerate based their announcement from the report of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
Based on the results of an investigation, and with the cooperation of SMC, the fire started on coping beam 5 of the project, where workers of a sub contractor were conducting metal grinding and welding activities. The results also dismiss earlier initial findings that the fire originated outside the construction yard used by SMC contractor D.M. Consunji Inc.(DMCI).
SMC said fire investigators retrieved from the scene spent welding electrodes and a metal cutting disk or grinding tool, used by construction workers prior to the incident. Hot metal embers or welding slag apparently came into contact with cartons and other combustible materials, starting the fire. There were no casualties reported, but construction work at the Skyway System is now delayed.
Apart from the Skyway, the fire also heavily damaged the facilities and properties of the Manila Plastics Plant, incidentally also under San Miguel’s packaging business.
Total damage to both the Skyway and packaging facility was estimated at P1.2 billion.
“This has been a freak and very unfortunate accident, but we are glad that nobody was hurt. We are also grateful to everyone who responded, especially the BFP, the many volunteer firefighters, rescue teams from Manila, the Philippine National Police,” said SMC president and Ramon S. Ang.
“While this is an unfortunate setback, we have moved quickly to get back on track with the construction. We are working double time to deliver the entire Skyway stage 3 project in five months’ time or by July. This is just a three-month delay from the original target date of April 2020,” he added.
Skyway Stage 3, which will run for about 18.3 kilometers between Buendia in Makati and Balintawak, Quezon City, was targeted to be fully completed within the second quarter.
It is part of the Edsa decongestion program that the government launched to cut travel time between Edsa’s end point to 30 minutes from over 2.5 hours.
The Department of Public Works and Highways has allocated P384 billion for its Edsa decongestion program, which involves the construction of 13 roads/expressways and 10 bridges in Metro Manila.Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said, however, that additional highways and bridges is not the sole solution to the perennial Edsa traffic, and that it should be complemented with a compatible mass transit system.
With additional reports: Lorenz S. Marasigan, BusinessMirror.com
Photo Sources: Manila Public Information Office, San Miguel Corp, BusinessMirror.com
