The Department of Transportation wants a firm direction from the provincial government of Cavite on its proposal to build an international airport in Sangley Point, Cavite.
“It has been in Neda [National Economic and Development Authority]. [But] I’m not aware of its completeness. They still have requirements to prepare,” Transportation Undersecretary for aviation Manuel Antonio Tamayo said when asked about the update on the proposal of the Cavite government to build Sangley International Airport.
“They still lack documents. What is their direction? Who is the proponent? Is it the LGU? Is it the national government? I don’t think it’s going to be national government nor DOTr because they are the main proponent and we don’t have the intention as far as the DOTr is concerned,” he said.
Earlier reports indicated that the Cavite provincial government submitted to Neda the full feasibility study for the project on Dec. 17, 2018.
The Sangley International Airport is expected to cost more than P500 billion.
The legal department of DOTr earlier issued a memorandum on June 15 last year, asking the department to refrain from signing an agreement with the Cavite provincial government on the proposed international airport.
The legal department cited the lack of technical and financial capability of the Cavite provincial government to implement an international airport development project.
Sangley Airport Infrastructure Group Inc., a consortium led by Solar Group’s All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp., also submitted an unsolicited proposal to build Philippine Sangley International Airport for $12 billion.
Another crucial portion of the ARRC development plan is the rehabilitation of Danilo Atienza Air Base, which will be later used as a general aviation airport to decongest Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals during the project development phase.
The rehabilitation of Danilo Atienza Air Base will complement the Naia, which is also subject of a proposed rehabilitation and expansion by Naia Consortium, which is composed of Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc., AEDC, Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc., and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
ARRC proposed a concession period of 50 years for the Sangley International Airport.
Under the proposal, the project will start with the reclamation of about 2,500 hectares of land north of the Sangley peninsula, which will be used for the development of airport infrastructure and a commercial establishment to complement the project.
The proposed airport will be designed with two parallel independent runways and sufficient airside and terminal capacity to accommodate future demand for the domestic and the international traffic, not only for the Philippines but also for Southeast Asia.